Smoke Farm Symposium: 2018

Sat, Sep 8, 2018 at 11am

This event has passed.

Each summer since 2008, scientists, activists, scholars, artists, philosophers, journalists, and other thinkers have gathered at Smoke Farm for the Symposium—a day of lectures and conversation that finishes with a large communal dinner by an accomplished local chef.

Past speakers have included MacArthur Genius and Soros Foundation fellows, members of the Black Panther Party and George Jackson Brigade, an architect who designs ecologically sustainable cities for the Chinese government, a founder of Occupy Wall Street, ecologists, actors, philosophers, graphic designers, research physicians, and many others.

The event begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning and ends with a big, communal dinner by chef Monica Dimas (Neon Taco, Sunset Fried Chicken, Tortas Condesa).

Guests are welcome to camp at Smoke Farm on Saturday night—and go for a swim in the Stillaguamish River.

This year’s Smoke Farm Sympoisum speakers are Lesley Hazelton, Dr. Barak Gaster, Eileen Delehanty Pearkes, and Rebecca Brown.

A few more details:

* Author and “accidental theologist” Lesley Hazleton (The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad; Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible’s Harlot Queen; Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto) on the dialectic between faith and doubt.

In her own words: “Writer, psychologist, and resolute agnostic—yes, there is such a thing—Lesley Hazleton explores the vast and volatile arena in which politics and religion intersect, probing what Bulgarian-French philosopher Julia Kristeva called ‘this incredible need to believe.’”

* Dr. Barak Gaster, a UW professor of medicine and the creator of a widely recognized living-will for dementia, will speak on end-of-life options for Alzheimer's disease, making a plan for if your mind should fade.

In his own words: “Barak Gaster is an professor and primary-care doctor at the University of Washington who has spent decades exploring difficult medical-social issues such as opioids for chronic pain, the scientific study of herbal medicines, and the need to engage with dementia, a disease no-one wants to face, yet whose prevalence is expected to triple in the coming years.”

* Author and natural historian Eileen Delehanty Pearkes (A River Captured; Facts and Arguments: Selected Essays from the Globe & Mail; essays for the yoga magazine ascent) on the liberation of rivers.

In her own words: “Eileen Delehanty Pearkes advocates for free-running rivers and the restoration of salmon to the upper Columbia River. (The U.S. and Canada have recently begun renegotiating a treaty that presents both countries with an opportunity to change hydropower operations while supporting salmon re-introduction.) She has also written extensively about the indigenous history of the Inland Northwest. An American living in Canada for 30 years, and the author of A River Captured, her perspective on North America’s fourth-largest watershed is uniquely bi-national, inclusive, and hopeful.”

* Author Rebecca Brown (American Romances, The Gifts of the Body, The Terrible Girls) on "The New Gothic Tale in an Era of Assault."

In her own words: "Rebecca Brown is the author of a dozen books published in the U.S. and abroad. Her new book, Not Heaven, Somewhere Else, will be published in the fall. She is currently senior artist in resienceat the University of Washington, Bothell."

* And returning chef Monica Dimas of Milkwood & Co. (an umbrella for her restaurants Neon Taco, Tortas Condesa, Sunset Fried Chicken Sandwiches, Westman’s Bagel & Coffee, and more) will oversee the weekend’s menu.

The Symposium is co-organized by Stuart Smithers (chair of the religion department at University of Puget Sound) and Brendan Kiley (reporter at the Seattle Times), plus a community of stalwart volunteers. Smoke Farm is a nonprofit-run organization and relies on your generosity to keep up its work—but, as always, nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.

We look forward to seeing you there soon.


Smoke Farm

12731 Smokes Road
Arlington, WA 98223