Makenna Schwab, The Seattle Medium
Picture this: you walk in off of Martin Luther King Jr. Way into The Station Columbia City at 7:00 p.m. Music is spinning, people are chatting, wine is flowing. Everyone is anticipating the first poetry or prose performance from one of three authors on the marquee tonight.
Lit Lounge: The People’s Art is a monthly event created by Jodi-Ann Burey, the founder and host. This version of Lit Lounge is in its pilot phase and kicked off this January. But Burey has been working on Lit Lounge for much longer than that.
After the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, Burey felt let down by the ways social discourse, and particularly social discourse in Seattle, was discussing authors of color.
“We’re talking about Black and Brown authors and we’re talking about our work, but something about the conversation still didn’t center us,” said Burey, “It was still for the learning of white people. How can I learn from you? How can I extract something from you, and that just didn’t sit right with me.”
Burey wanted to see the focus shift from people of color needing to carry the burden of teaching others how to be anti-racist. She wanted to “center the lives of people of color through our own lens,” she said.
In 2020, Burey partnered with Jennifer Gomez, co-founder of the online marketplace oneKIN, to host a virtual author-interview series with an emphasis on memoirs, books and short stories. Over the course of four years, Burey hosted four sessions of interviews with a wide range of authors. What started simply as interviews grew into the community hub it is today.
“Lit Lounge is a place, you know,” Burey said. “And then I imagined and designed a reading series, transitioning Lit Lounge from interviews to a prose and poetry salon.”
Burey built a team to make this vision come to life.
Kisa Nishimoto, a long-time friend and past coworker of Burey, is Lit Lounge’s head of operations. Burey’s favorite DJ, DJ Topspin, serves as Lit Lounge’s head of vibes. Between the three of them, and a team of volunteers and partners, Lit Lounge has found success as they pilot their poetry and prose salon.
Hosted by The Station Columbia City, Lit Lounge has held two successful events thus far–one in January and one in February. The third event is scheduled for March 21, and is already sold out.
Each month, three authors are invited to share their work with patrons. In between each set, DJ Topspin plays music to get people up and moving.
“If no one is dancing,” Burey teased, “the event has failed for Topspin. We gotta get people dancing and his desire to see people just moving their bodies and having a good time with each other, that’s inspiring.”
Author, journalist and essayist Kristen Millares Young read at the February event but first attended the January Lit Lounge.
“I decided to turn up and see what it was all about,” said Millares Young, “I’m so glad I did, because they’re really doing something.”
On Feb. 28, Millares Young shared a piece from her unreleased memoir with the sold-out crowd. “I made this book for my community,” she shared, “and it felt right and it felt safe.”
Safety, comfort and community are key to the Lit Lounge team.
“The ethos of Lit Lounge is like you came to my house,” Burey explained. “The lit matters as much as the lounge.”
Added Nishimoto: “Lit Lounge builds upon the community that already exists. “It creates an opportunity for in-person connection that can’t be replaced by something virtual.”
It’s no coincidence that the launch of the new style started in January–the start of the dark season in Seattle.
“It was really important to make sure Lit Lounge happens at night, during the worst months of the year in Seattle, when you’d rather just be at home–and that it happened on a Friday,” said Burey.
“There’s so few spaces where you can go sit down as someone with a disability. That’s important to me, to sit and connect with other people and be able to move about and talk to strangers.”
Beyond just Burey, Nishimoto and Topspin, a team of volunteers support the event, before, during and after. Owners of The Station Columbia City, Luis Rodriguez and Leona Moore-Rodriguez, sell coffee throughout the evening. Local Asian-American bookstore, Mam’s Books, sets up to showcase and sell works of featured artists.
“When you make it a space that people want to be at and work at,” said Nishimoto, “it’s a good sign.”
With the final installation of the pilot program in March already sold out, it’s easy to assume that Lit Lounge is filling a need for so many people.
“That’s important to me,” Burey said “Sit, connect with other people and be able to move about and talk to strangers.”
