Seattle Arts & Lectures: Tracy Kidder Speaking Next Week

Tracy Kidder has made a career out of sharing amazing stories—or, perhaps more accurately, the stories of amazing people. Although he won a Pulitzer and National Book Awards in 1982 for techno-tome The Soul of a New Machine, he's perhaps best known for his 2003 book Mountains beyond Mountains. According to Kidder, this moving account of Partners in Health founder Paul Farmer's medical work in Haiti had a "bigger" scope than his previous works, and "somehow felt more important."

It also set the stage for additional explorations of altruistic individuals: Kidder's most recent book is 2009's Strength in What Remains, which describes a medical student's difficult journey from Burundi to NYC, eventually culminating in the founding of philanthropic medical organization Village Health Works. The New York Times said of Strength that "Kidder lets the story unfold, staying out of the way.... The story seems to tell itself."

This type of careful strategic arrangement is far more work than its outcome would indicate, and requires hours of work based on years of experience. Next Wednesday at Benaroya, Kidder share some of his views on experiential nonfiction as part of the Seattle Arts & Lectures series. Using the topic "Another Set of Eyes," Kidder will talk about bringing multiple perspectives to life in writing. The event should prove inspirational for writers and readers alike, as Kidder helps realize the great writerly function: holding up a new lens to the world, and focusing it on those doing something amazing (even if it doesn't seem so at first glance).

Wednesday, March 2, 7:30 pm ./ Benaroya Hall ./ $15+