Stesha Brandon ’91 Literature and Humanities Program Manager, The Seattle Public Library

Stesha Brandon ’91, Literature and Humanities Program Manager, The Seattle Public Library

Something magical happens when people engage with literature. Stesha Brandon should know. As Literature and Humanities Program Manager at The Seattle Public Library (SPL), Stesha oversees author programming and, in addition, devotes forty percent of her time to Seattle Reads, an annual one-city, one-book program that inspires thousands of readers to read the same book at the same time. Originating in Seattle in 1998, the one-city, one-book concept has been implemented across the country, in all 50 states, as well as being implemented internationally.

“It is a real joy to bring together community and celebrate the work authors have done,” says Stesha, who holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Washington.

Every year, Stesha and members of the Seattle Reads Advisory Board read 20 to 30 books for consideration and discuss their suitability before making the final pick. The choice for 2019 was The Best We Could Do, by Thi Bui, a graphic memoir about a family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves in America.

“The goals of the Seattle Reads program are to deepen engagement with literature, to open people’s minds to ideas, and help people to be inspired,” says Stesha. “One thing we did this year was to have graphic novel workshops so readers might be able to be inspired to tell their own stories.”

photo credit: Misha Stone

Connecting through Written Expression

In addition to Seattle Reads, Stesha sits on the boards of Seattle Arts & Lectures and Seattle City of Literature. In Oct 2017, Seattle was named as a City of Literature by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The designation is awarded to world cities that have demonstrated a fervent interest in literature, publishing, and other forms of written expression. These cities commit to develop and exchange innovative best practices to promote creative industries, strengthen participation in cultural life, and integrate culture into sustainable urban development policies. Seattle joins a group of 28 international cities that includes Edinburgh, Dublin, Krakow, Baghdad, and Montevideo.

Explains Stesha: “The designation opens doors for communication and cultural exchange and allows us to connect with networks all over the world in multiple disciplines to find opportunities to build understanding through the literary arts and cultural forms.”

Combining Management and Literature

After graduating from UW, Stesha considered graduate school but realized she was not interested in either of the two graduate tracks: creative or criticism. A professor encouraged her to get out in the world, and since she wanted to cook for a living, she went to work for a catering company. However, after a few years, her brain wanted more. “I missed intellectual stimulation,” says Stesha.

She took a job as an editor for a small publishing company called Educare Press and proceeded to find that editing was not the best fit for her either. “I like people,” she laughs, “and being an editor can be lonely.”

Serendipitously, a friend encouraged her to take a job in Seattle’s University Book Store, and it was there that things clicked for her. The job combined her event management and project management skills with her love of literature. Today, she applies all three skill sets to her job as program manager at SPL.

“I bring a unique perspective to my work: I know what booksellers are looking for; what nonprofits are looking for; and what the public sector is looking for,” points out Stesha.

Stesha, introducing the 2019 Seattle Reads event

Photo credit: Naomi Ishisaka

An Interdisciplinary Brain

Stesha graduated summa cum laude from UW, an accomplishment she believes that would not have been possible if she hadn’t attended The Northwest School.

“I felt like I had already been to college – it was easy after Northwest,” she testifies. “Everything (at Northwest) was taught in an interdisciplinary way and that’s how my own brain works. In Humanities, we were not only learning about wars but learning about them in the context of literature, political treatises, and musical movements.”

According to Stesha, the number-one skill honed at Northwest was the ability to speak articulately, coherently, cogently, and with feeling.

“Northwest was a really great education. I loved that students were respected and expected to engage; the number-one takeaway was being able to go into a class and engage and have that confidence to listen with understanding, and to share.”

Stesha sang in Northwest’s choir and loved taking classes in every art discipline. She vividly remembers learning to write sonnets and being “blown away” by the elegance of the form and how to express so much in a constrained way.

“I am grateful for that: for validation of all different parts of learning and especially of the value arts bring,” says Stesha. “(Humanities teacher) Glen Sterr and (science teacher) Mark Terry both said that their job was to teach us how to be curious—and that lasts a lifetime.”