We Could Be Heroes

“We Could be Heroes”

Once upon a time, heroes were brawny warriors who talked to the gods and made semi-tragic contributions to their countries. The definition is baggier now and we agree more with Emerson: “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.” But how does that work? Is there a heroics of the everyday? Is heroism romantic (and does it always have to involve George Clooney)?

Friday, Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m.
Three new works on our theme.

Jack Hitt is a contributing editor to Harper's, GQ and “This American Life.” He previously served as a contributing editor to the now-defunct magazine Lingua Franca. He also frequently appears in places such as The New York Times Magazine and Outside Magazine. Read our interview with Jack Hitt here.

Ellen Forney has been a professional cartoonist/ illustrator since 1992, and also sometimes paints and dabbles in other artsy pursuits. Forney has published two collections of her comic strips, “I Love Led Zeppelin” and “Monkey Food.” Read our interview with Ellen Forney here.

Brian Turner served seven years in the US Army Infantry, including a year in Iraq in 2003-2004, after earning an M.F.A. from the University of Oregon and spending a year in South Korea. From 1999-2000, he was deployed with the 10th Mountain Division in Bosnia-Herzegovina. His first book, “Here Bullet,” (Alice James Books, 2005), is a collection of powerful, lyric poems written mostly while Turner was an infantry team leader in Iraq. Read our interview with Brian Turner here.

With music by Canary Sing, the hip-hop duo pairing Madlinez the Lioness (Madeleine Clifford) and Ispire (Hollis Wear). They are poets, emcees, students and teachers as well as mentors for the literary arts organization Youth Speaks Seattle. In 2006 they were members of the Seattle Youth Slam Team that placed fourth in the nation and performed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem; they have since performed at events featuring Talib Kweli, Buddy Wakefield and many others.

Saturday, Nov. 17

10:30 a.m. What We Talk About When We Talk About Heroes
A panel discussion with Jack Hitt, Sallie Tisdale, Bruce Barcott and John Moe
Bravery and heroism are always associated with the battlefield. But what about heroism at home or in the kitchen? In the backyard? In the carpool on the way to school? We'll talk about where it's hard to be a hero—places like the suburbs.

1-4 p.m. Star in Your Own Comic Strip
A Hugo Writing Class with Ellen Forney
Your life is full of good stories: Falling in love with your first car and totaling it. Winning an arm-wrestling contest against your fitness instructor. We'll cover some of the basics of writing and structuring a dynamic story, do some drawing exercises and lay out and draw a one-page story about…YOU!

1-4 p.m. New Writing from the Everyday
A Hugo Writing Class with Brian Turner
We will use the seemingly mundane as launch points into new material. Wine-soaked newspapers, old laundry, cigarette butts, traffic jams, weeds and the entire world of the unnoticed and the unsung. We will also create a group poem by fusing some individual work into a larger piece.

October 12-13, 2007 “Lost in Translation”

February 15-16, 2008 “Love Is the Drug”