Seattle, with its spectacular natural beauty and rough frontier history, has inspired writers from its earliest days. This anthology spans seven decades and includes fiction, memoirs, histories, and journalism that define the city or use it as a setting, imparting the flavor of the city through a literary prism.Reading Seattle ranges from classics by Horace R. Cayton, Richard Hugo, Betty MacDonald, Mary McCarthy, Murray Morgan, and John Okada to more recent works by Sherman Alexie, Lynda Barry, David Guterson, J. A. Jance, and Jonathan Raban. It includes cutting-edge work by emerging talents and reintroduces works by important Seattle writers who may have been overlooked in recent years.The writers featured in this volume explore a variety of neighborhoods and districts within the city, delineating urban spaces and painting memorable portraits of characters both historical and fictional.Sometime Seattle resident Peter Donahue teaches at Birmingham-Southern College and is the author of The Cornelius Arms. John Trombold, an independent scholar, has taught English at a number of schools including Seattle University, Pacific Lutheran University, Seattle Central Community College, and The Lakeside School.Writers included:Sherman Alexie; Peter Bacho; Lynda Barry; Archie Binns; Matt Briggs; Colette Brooks; Rebecca Brown; Michael Byers; Jack Cady; Horace R. Cayton; Walt Crowley; Charles D’Ambrosio; Timothy Egan; Earl W. Emerson; David Guterson; Neil Henry; Josephine Herbst; Richard Hugo; J. A. Jance; Thom Jones; Mark Lindquist; Betty MacDonald; Mary McCarthy; Lydia Minatoya; Murray Morgan; John Okada; Mary Brinker Post; Jonathan Raban; Paisley Rekdal; Tom Robbins; Nancy Wilson Ross; Emily Baillargeon Russin; Roger Sale; Charlotte Watson Sherman; David Shields; Natalia Rachel Singer; Monica Sone; Matthew Stadler; Emmett Watson; Edwin Weihe; Barbara Wilson