Hugo House is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

community writing center in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington.

About

Hugo House was founded in 1997 by Linda Jaech, Frances McCue, and Andrea Lewis. These three writers believed Seattle needed a center for local writers and readers to find a community and create new work. In 1999, Laura Hirschfield described the nonprofit organization: "Richard Hugo House is a two-year-old literary arts center in Seattle named after the Seattle-born poet and creative writing teacher

Richard Hugo Richard Hugo (December 21, 1923 – October 22, 1982), born Richard Franklin Hogan, was an American poet. Although some critics regard Hugo as primarily a regionalist, his work resonates broadly across place and time. A portion of Hugo's work re ...

who wrote squarely and poignantly about people and places often overlooked." Several new programs were created at Hugo House during the 2000s by Program Director Brian McGuigan, including Cheap Wine and Poetry (in 2005) Cheap Beer and Prose (in 2008), and the Made at Hugo House fellowship. McGuigan left Hugo House in 2014. Tree Swenson was the Executive Director of Hugo House from 2012 to 2020. The current Interim Executive Director is Rob Arnold.

House

Hugo House first occupied a Victorian house originally built in 1902. Previous occupants of the building included New City Theater and before that the Bonney-Watson mortuary and funeral home. In addition to administrative offices, the House included: * an 88/150 theater * a cabaret stage and cafe * three multipurpose rooms * a conference room * an art gallery * private meeting spaces In June 2016, the organization moved to a temporary space adjacent to the

Frye Art Museum The Frye Art Museum is a modern and contemporary art museum located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1952 to house the collection of Charles and Emma Frye and has since grown to include rotating temporary e ...

First Hill First Hill is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is named for the hill on which it is located, which in turn is so named for being the first hill encountered while traveling east from downtown Seattle toward Lake Washing ...

when the original house on Capitol Hill was razed. The property was redeveloped with a six-story mixed-use building which, starting in September 2018, serves as the permanent home for Hugo House.

Programs

Hugo House presents a number of programs, including: * Hugo Writing Classes * Hugo Classes for Youth * Stage Fright Teen Open Mic * Hugo Works in Progress * Hugo Literary Series * Word Works: Writers on Writing * Writers-in-Residence * Made at Hugo House Fellowship * Zine Archive and Publishing Project (formerly a program of Hugo House, now independent)

Articles

''A Study in Social Entrepreneurship: Richard Hugo House''
Laura Hirschfield, Grantmakers in the Arts Newsletter, Volume 10, Number 2, Autumn 1999
''All eyes on a timely topic at Hugo House''
John Marshall,

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was f ...

, 10/4/2002,
''Open House''
Christopher Frizzelle, The Stranger, 7/24/2003,
''Making Things Better''
Frances McCue, Community Arts, 10/2004
''Not With a Bang, But a Whimper''
Paul Constant, The Stranger, 9/16/2008
''Hugo House names interim director''
John Marshall, Seattle PI, 10/23/2008

References

External links

* {{Authority control Houses completed in 1902 Non-profit organizations based in Seattle Libraries in Seattle Organizations established in 1997 1997 establishments in Washington (state)