Every week we ask an interesting figure what they're digging into. Have ideas who we should reach out to? Let it fly: info@seattlereviewofbooks.com. Want to read more? Check out the archives.

Sharon Nyree Williams is a Seattle-based storyteller with many expressions. You may recognize her name as our Poet in Residence for February (you can read the poems she shared: "I’m No Piece of Brittle", "My brothers", "Black", and "The American Dream"). She's also a performer, the Executive Director of the Central Arts Comission, a Seattle Arts Comissioner, on the board of trustees for Cornish College of the Arts, just to name a short few from her long list of accolades. Thanks to Sharon for joining us during February, and check out what she's up to on her fabulous website.

What are you reading now?

I’ve been reading for a while now Toni Morrison’s, The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations. My niece was in town visiting from North Carolina and being the best auntie ever. I know she loves reading fiction, so I put on our things to do list a trip to Elliot Bay Bookstore. Little did I know, I would find a gem in the form of Toni Morrison’s collection. Unfortunately, the Nobel Prize winner would pass away a few months after I began my journey enthralled into her greatness. I love the book because it’s like an encyclopedia, I hope you are old enough to remember what an encyclopedia was. If not, it was Google in book form, volumes A-Z and just about everyone had a set.

What I love about the book is that I don’t have to read it cover to cover. I was in a place where I was really trying to examine what it meant to be an artist, and lucky for me there is a chapter in the book, The Individual Artist it begins on page 58 and that’s where I was able to start the journey. You may say that by having Toni Morrison’s,The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations, I feel like she has become a mentor because of how she choose to share her work and experiences with me in form of a book.

What did you read last?

Becoming by Michelle Obama, was my last book. Honestly, as a Black woman I felt and needed to know more about one of the most inspirational women in the world. The curiosity alone of how did she become the magnificent person that she is? What can I learn from her experiences? In reading her book I may never become Michelle Obama but I’m not afraid to strive to become my best self even more now than ever. As I take my rightful place in society, I will cherish the journey along the way. #BlackGirlMagic

What are you reading next?

I plan on reading next, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. For years, I’ve heard people refer to this book and I’ve always been intrigued by it. But for some reason I never made the time to read it. Recently, I was performing my solo show, Dare to Claim the Sky at ACT Theatre and we ended up with a small bookcase as part of the set design. My director, Christine Sumption didn’t want the bookcase to just sit empty so we decided to bring books from home along with family photos to have on the shelves. But we all knew it just couldn’t be any books, and as soon as she made the recommendation, Christine new that she was bringing in The New Jim Crow from her collection. Therefore, I believe that the time is now for me to experience it for myself.