Exhibiting artist Lotus L. Kang is, among many things, a voracious reader—someone who thinks deeply about what she reads and weaves language and literary references into her artistic practice in unexpected ways. While preparing her solo exhibition I hear the hollow boom of time, Kang shared a selection of books that informed her thinking—ranging from explorations of quantum physics to science fiction and contemporary literature—that inspire, challenge, and expand her perspective.

Inspired by her selections, four local authors visited the exhibition and reflected on the connections between Kang’s work, the texts that influenced its creation, and their own writing practices.

The result is an evening of literary pairings: each author will share excerpts from two work—one of their own writings and one from Kang’s reading list—creating a dynamic conversation between visual art, poetry, and prose.

What to Expect

• 5–6 pm: Come early and jumpstart your own creative writing practice in the galleries with prompts developed by the participating authors. Pencils, paper, and prompts will be provided to encourage reflection, observation, and responsive writing inspired by the exhibition.
• 6–7 pm: Head to the Auditorium for the reading by Lauren Davis, Stacy Flood, Monica West and Diana Xin
• 7–7:30 pm: Share your own creative responses with the group or ask the authors questions

About the Authors

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Lauren Davis is the author of the short story collection The Nothing (YesYes Books, 2025) and the poetry collections Home Beneath the Church and When I Drowned. Her fiction won the Landing Zone Magazine’s Flash Fiction Contest, and her writings have been finalists for the Ruth Stone Poetry Prize and the Press 53 Award for Short Fiction, among others. Her work has appeared in numerous literary publications and anthologies including Prairie Schooner, Spillway, Poet Lore, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from the Bennington College Writing Seminars.

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Stacy Flood’s work has been performed and published nationwide. He has been a finalist in the Playwrights Foundation Bay Area and Ashland New Play festivals, and an artist-in-residence at DISQUIET in Lisbon, Djerassi in Northern California, Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus in Bavaria, and Millay Arts in New York. Furthermore, he is the recipient of a Getty Fellowship to the Community of Writers, his play Wardenclyffe is a winner in the Union Arts Center New Works festival, and his novella The Salt Fields is an editor’s choice pick for both Shelf Awareness and the Historical Novel Society.

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Monica West's debut novel Revival Season was a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, a Barnes and Noble Discover selection, and short-listed for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. Her second novel Light the Way will be published by Putnam in 2027. Monica received her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was a Rona Jaffe Graduate Fellow. She has received additional fellowships and funding from Hawthornden, Ragdale, Bread Loaf, Hedgebrook, Kimbilio Fiction, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She has taught creative writing at the University of Iowa, the University of San Francisco, and the University of Washington. She currently lives in Seattle.

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Born in the Hebei province of China and raised in the American Midwest, Diana Xin's work appears in Electric Literature, The Missouri Review, Narrative Magazine, Gulf Coast, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Montana. Her work has been supported by Artist Trust, Hedgebrook, Mineral Arts & Residencies, the M Literary Residency in Beijing, and the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. Book of Exemplary Women (YesYes Books, 2025) is her debut collection of short stories.