Archives West Finding Aid

The Seattle Muse Community was an art movement that developed and flourished in the late 1970s and 1980s during a period of city adminstrative support for the arts. Visual artists, poets, dancers, and musicians collaborated to form groups such as Red Sky Poetry Theatre (RSPT) and create interdisciplinary art and dance installations such as "Rock and Rope" and "Moebius" and video/TV poetry performance series ( Red Sky Live, Cactus Poets, and Manifest Arts), and start an annual festival called Alternative to Loud Boats. They published poetry and art periodicals such as Open Sound, Open Sky, SkyViews, Seattle Small Press Poetry Review, and Raven Chronicles, in addition to starting several small press publishing companies: Nine Muses Books, Poetry around Press, and Red Sky Press. Red Sky Poetry Theatre supported weekly poetry open mic events.

Affiliated People

• Elluage Anthony - Poet
• Jesse Bernstein - Poet, theatre performer, and musician
• Carol Barth - Poet and performer
• Bart Baxter - Poet and board member (1989-1991)
• Phoebe Bosché - Founder, board member (1984-1989), and editor of Raven Chronicles and An Alternative to Loud Boats
• Elliott Bronstein - Founding member and board member (1981-2005)
• Charlie Burks - Poet and performer
• John Currie - Photographer
• Amy Denio - Musician and actor
• Louise Dovell - Poet
• Allison Durazzi - Board member (1996-1997). Left Red Sky Poetry Theatre to join Seattle Poetry Slam board.
• Craig Flory - Musician
• Alan Goodin - Board member (1984-1992) and producer of Paramount Poets , Cactus Poets, and Red Sky Live video series
• Martina Poth Goodin - Poet, videographer, board member (1984-1992) and producer of Paramount Poets, Cactus Poets, and Red Sky Live
• Alley Greymond (AKA Teresa Bachman) - Board member (1989-1999)
• Paul Hunter - Board member (1993-2004) and publisher of Wood Works Press
• Michael Hureaux-Perez - Poet, performer, actor, and board member (1982-1986)
• Clarice Keegan - Board member (1997-2004)
• Joseph F. Keppler - Founding member, board member (1980-1983), poet, sculptor, and founder of Poets, Painters, and Performers magazine
• Marion Kimes - Grande Dame, board member (1982-2006), president, treasurer, poet, and performer
• Ralph La Charity - Poet, performer, editor, and publisher of W'ORCs, etc.
• Pete Leinonen - Musician
• Matthew Lennon - Founding member and board member (1979-1986)
• Martha Linehan - Board member (1996-2005)
• Jim Maloney - Poet, publisher, and winemaker
• Martin Marriott - Poet, actor, and board member (1996-2001)
• Meg McHutchison - Poet, dancer, visual artist, mixed media, and videographer
• Bruce MacLean - Painter and actor
• Van Medcalf - Sculptor and actor
• Trudy Mercer - Poet, publisher, board member (1982-1994), and occasional editor of SkyViews
• Jesse Minkert - Board member (2000-2005) and recorder of Red Sky at Night and Since the Ace: The Poetry of Charlie Burks
• Louis Ernie Nadalini - Painter
• Paul Nelson - Board member (1997-2005) and founder of Global Voices Radio and Seattle Poetry Lab
• Cliff Olds - Painter and semi-precious stoneworker
• Tom Parson - Founding member, board member (1979-1983), and coordinator of Bumbershoot Small Press Book Fair from 1977-1979
• Steve Potter - Poet, board member (1994-2005), and publisher of The Wandering Hermit Review
• Thomas R. Prince - Playwright and actor
• Belle Randall - Author and board member (1998-2005).
• Judith Roche - Founding member, board member (1981-1983), and poet. Left Red Sky Poetry Theatre to work as literary director at Bumbershoot
• Peter Sawicki (Tobeimean) - Actor, poet, visual artist, and board member (1986-1987)
• Robin Schultz - Poet and publisher of Poetry around Press
• Wally Shoup - Musician and painter
• Bill Shively - Founding member, board member (1981-1985), poet, performer, and creator of Open Sky Magazine and SkyViews
• Roberto Valenza - poet, painter, singer, flute player, board member (1984-1992) and founder of An Alternative to Loud Boat
• Margareta Waterman - Board member (1989-1994), poet, actor, and publisher/producer of Nine Muses and Manifest Arts video series
• Llwyd DeVoid (Watson) - Improvisational theatre performer
• Diane Westergaard - Board member (2004-2005)
• David Lloyd Whited - Poet
• Dennis Widstrand - Visual artist and musician
• Don Wilsun - Poet, first founder, board member (1981-2003), and president (1982)