Ghost Stories: An Embodied Reading with Putsata Reang

What stories does grief tell?

What does it mean to speak to ghosts?

How can art and stories be a conduit to other realms?

In conjunction with the exhibition Spirit House, the Henry presents a two-part series of readings by local authors exploring ghosts, familial histories, and the porousness between life and death. This program is developed in collaboration with Derek Dizon of A Resting Place, a grief and loss cultural resource center in Seattle’s Chinatown International District.

Please note that space for this program is limited. RSVP recommended.

Putsata Reang has lived and worked in more than a dozen countries including Cambodia, Afghanistan and Thailand. She has degrees in journalism and English from the University of Oregon. She worked as a reporter for major metropolitan newspapers including the San Jose Mercury News and The Seattle-Times before moving abroad to train journalists in investigative and political reporting in conflict and post-conflict countries. Putsata is an alumna of writers’ residencies at Hedgebrook, Mineral School and Kimmel Harding Nelson, as well as the Jack Straw Writers Program. She has received grants from Washington State Artist Trust and the Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Politico, Ms., the Guardian among other publications and she has been anthologized in essay collections that highlight women’s and Khmer voices. Putsata has been interviewed by NPR’s “On Point” show; the New York Times Modern Love podcast; Dani Shapiro’s “Family Secrets” podcast; Ploughshares; and Poets & Writers, among others.

Derek Dizon is the owner and operator of A Resting Place, a grief resource center located in Seattle’s CID. He holds a Master's Degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Washington and has worked as a grief therapist for several years. Derek is a queer Filipino American and multi-media artist who also identifies as a survivor of traumatic death. Much of his creative works are centered around mourning and remembrance. Derek's work has been showcased in Out of Sight (2016), ArtXChange Gallery (2017), Poetry on Buses (2017), The Tacoma Art Museum (2018), and Los Angeles’ Avenue 50 Studio Gallery (2019). In 2020, he curated an exhibit at the Columbia City Art Gallery which explored arts and healing in Asian immigrant communities of Southeast Seattle. As a survivor of homicide loss, Derek dedicates his art and community organizing as a vessel of care and love for our local grieving community.