!–paging_filter–pCall it the lament of the poet laureate: having people come up to you and confess, “Poetry makes me feel dumb.” Elizabeth Austen, Washington’s newly crowned poet laureate (the third in state history), says that over the course of her many years as a poetry writer, promoter and teacher, she can’t count the times she’s…

!–paging_filter–pIn her previous work, Seattle playwright Stephanie Timm has written about a teenage girl who devolves into an ape (emOn the Nature of Dust/em), and a “grim (fairy)tale” about human trafficking (emSweet Nothing/em). In her new, world-premiere play, emTails of Wasps/em, she addresses the age-old story of a politician brought down by a sexual scandal….

!–paging_filter–pSuperheroes, supervillains, comic-book lovers and sci-fi fans flock to the Washington State Convention Center on March 28-30 for this beloved nerd ball. Visit a href=”http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com” target=”_blank”emeraldcitycomicon.com/a for more information and expect to see plenty of a href=”http://\/\/seattlemag.com/gallery/year-photos-most-amazing-photos-2013?p…” target=”_blank”this /aon the streets of downtown Seattle this weekend.br /br /Our fearless leader, editorial director Rachel Hart, will…

!–paging_filter–div class=”storify”script src=”//storify.com/seattlemag/mossback-monday-40.js?header=false”/scriptpnoscript[a href=”//storify.com/seattlemag/mossback-monday-40″ target=”_blank”View the story “Mossback Monday” on Storify/a]/noscript/div  

!–paging_filter–pstrongMust Tourbra href=”http://bit.ly/1eW1mAV” target=”_blank”Explore Modern Architecture on the Seattle Modern Home Tour/a/strongbrSaturday (3/22, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) — Six local homes (more may be added), from West Seattle to North Seattle, Magnolia to Leschi, are opening their doors to design lovers during this self-guided driving tour of mid-century modern and contemporary modern abodes./ppstrongMust Nerd…

Two years ago, when a third stadium was being pushed hard by Chris Hansen, who wanted to bring the Sonics back home, one of the best comments I heard was from longtime local sports journalist Art Thiel. We discussed the topic at our annual Most Influential People of the Year nomination meeting, and Thiel, who…

!–paging_filter–div class=”storify”script src=”//storify.com/seattlemag/mossback-monday-39.js?header=false”/scriptpnoscript[a href=”//storify.com/seattlemag/mossback-monday-39″ target=”_blank”View the story “Mossback Monday” on Storify/a]/noscript/div  

!–paging_filter–pstrongPike Place Market/strong/pp3/14–3/18 Celebrate St. Paddy’s Day at Kells Irish Pub in Post Alley, where gingers toast to dear old Ireland with live music from the old country—and quite a few pints o’ Guinness as well. a href=”http://www.kellsirish.com/seattle/index.php” target=”_blank”kellsirish.com/a/ppstrongDowntown /strong/pp3/15, 12:30 p.m. Don your finest green-and-white wares for the 2014 St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Starting…

!–paging_filter–pstrongMust Knitbra href=”http://bit.ly/1cVzvpm” target=”_blank”Yarn Lovers Unite at ‘Vogue Knitting’ Live/a/strongbr(3/14 to 3/16, times vary) — Should your bucket list include learning to knit a runway stunner, head to the Meydenbauer Convention Center in Bellevue for three days worth of high-style knitting, crocheting and crafting lessons and demos, plus a marketplace filled with items made from…

!–paging_filter–pConsider the toothpick: A sliver of wood used to liberate stubborn foodstuffs from between one’s teeth. It’s been pretty much the same design since Neanderthal times, but the current Northwest mania for all things artisanal has raised this common object to lofty status. The so-called “worthy and fulsome” toothpicks produced by Toronto company Daneson, for…

!–paging_filter–pA little more than a year ago, my son, Gus, returned from 10 years in the desert. He went off to college in Albuquerque, worked for computer game companies there and in Austin, but finally, like a coho salmon, found his way home./ppHe seems happy to have traded in green chiles for green moss, but…

!–paging_filter–pJoey Veltkamp is known for making art that highlights the beauty of comfort—such as his drawings of striped blankets, paintings of bears with rainbows and his sweet ceramic ghosts. In his new show, emThis Is Not a Protest. It’s a Celebration!/em, he premieres a series of handmade quilts and flags (one, an homage to Pussy…

!–paging_filter–pMarch may be National Reading Month, but in hyper-literary Seattle that’s the case every month. We boast outstanding bookstores img src=”/sites/default/files/newfiles/0314_library_2.jpg” style=”float: left; margin: 10px;” height=”266″ width=”400″(Elliott Bay), niche shops for poetry (Open Books), math/science (Ada’s Books) and mysteries (Mystery Bookshop), several publishers, packed reading series and one of the largest and busiest library systems…