October Writers Roundtable: Every Word a Poem

Saturday, October 11, 1 – 3 p.m., Orcas Library

Every Word a Poem: Word Choice and Chief Seattle’s Speech

A writer’s creativity and unique voice begin with word choices: we’ll look at examples from advertising, poetry, medicine and government to talk about the emotion and meaning packed into our words.

The grave of Chief Sealth in Suquamish, Wash. The memorial, which was desecrated in 2002, was rebuilt with the words of Chief Sealth inscribed in English and Lushootseed, the Salish language used by Sealth.

And we’ll talk about the nuances of translation through the lens of Chief Seattle’s famous speech, “How Can One Sell the Air?”  to territorial governor Isaac I. Stevens in 1854 as the Point Elliott Treaty was being formulated. That treaty was signed in 1855, and was ratified by more than 20 tribes from the Puget Sound area.

We’ll have a round robin reading of several translations of the speech, and invite people to bring their own copies.

As one translator said, “Although we may never know exactly what Chief Seattle said, we believe that he was probably as eloquent as subsequent versions of his speech portray him to be.”

This month’s Writers Roundtable will feature Margie Doyle, author of The Fisherman’s Quilt and Editor of Orcas Issues online news service.

Writers Roundtable is open to all, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Orcas Island Library Conference Room.