Our music critics have already recommended the 23 best concerts in Seattle this week, but now it's our arts critics' turn: Here are their top picks for things to do in Seattle this week, from Making the Black Dog Sit: A Look at Suicide Through Poetry to a Chuck Palahniuk book signing to the Where Love is Illegal art show. See them all below, and find even more events on our complete Things To Do calendar.

Want this in your inbox? Sign up for the Stranger Things To Do newsletter.

MONDAY
READINGS & TALKS
Kim Addonizio
Over the course of her three-decade-long writing career, Kim Addonizio's work has been consistently funny, formally inventive, sexually positive, philosophically complex, and lyrically tight, despite its chatty surface. She can write using received forms without sounding old-fashioned, and you can understand her poems after one or two reads. More reads yield greater depths and insight, of course, but she's not trying to flummox you with elliptical uncertainties. If she brings even an ounce of her talent to her new memoir, Bukowski in a Sundress, that'll be plenty. The book's about drankin', druggin', fuckin', writin', and her relationships with her parents. What else is there? RICH SMITH

Mychal Denzel Smith: Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching
Mychal Denzel Smith (The Nation) will speak about systems of oppression and the experience of being a black man in America, tying in themes from his new book Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching.

COMMUNITY
Shout Your Abortion: Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt
Celebrate the outcome of historic case Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt with #ShoutYourAbortion. They'll unveil "a series of actions" in a surprise response to the Supreme Court ruling, and have supplies including a photobooth with Kelly O, plus music (and hugs).

Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt Supreme Court Rally
Celebrate the Supreme Court's historic ruling on Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the outcome of which will have a lasting impact on the ability of women to obtain safe, legal abortions. Rally, discuss, and revel in necessary freedoms with groups including National Women's Political Caucus of Washington (NWPC-WA), Seattle Women's Commission, ACLU of Washington, The CAIR Project, and more.

Drink Up to Grow Up: A Discussion on Housing Affordability
This discussion of housing affordability will feature a ten-minute presentation of the Mayor's housing affordability plan by the Office of Planning and Community Development, which will be followed by a panel and Q&A with Hyeok Kim (Seattle's Deputy Mayor), Alan Durning (Sightline Institute's Executive Director), and Susan Boyd (Bellwether Housing's Director of Real Estate Development).

FILM
Silent Movie Mondays: Why Be Good?
This week, the Paramount will finish up its series of silent movies from the 1920s that embody the American historical period when rebellious women with awesome wardrobes listened to jazz and went to boozy parties. Flapper costumes are encouraged, and there will be various themed activities before each of the screenings, including music, a costume parade, and Charleston dance lessons. Tonight, watch the 1929 film Why Be Good?, featuring a salesgirl/suspected golddigger who has her morality tested by her potential father-in-law.

Collide-O-Scope
Created and hosted by Michael Anderson and Shane Wahlund, Collide-O-Scope is the cavalcade of curated video delights that takes over Re-bar twice a month. The show keeps getting better, with thematic suites (tonight's is "Pride-o-Scope"), hallucinatory repetition, and inspired guests. Perennial bonuses: free popcorn and Red Vines, and multiple prizes waiting to be won via drawings throughout the show.

ART
Where Love is Illegal
By having their photograph taken and included in this photograph series, the subjects of these photographs are declaring their identities as LGBTQI. They're also sharing their stories, printed alongside the photographs, of being persecuted where they live for being who they are. These photographs are made in defiance of everything that is not depicted in the photographs but appears in the stories: beatings, arrests, rapes, disownings, shamings, imprisonment. The show will be up at SAM through Sunday. JEN GRAVES

TUESDAY
READINGS & TALKS
Chuck Palahniuk
Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, will sign copies of his 2015 graphic novel collaboration with Cameron Stewart, Fight Club 2. This is a ticketed event and the price includes a hardcover copy of the book.

Sloane Crosley
Crosley perfectly illuminates the inertia of her three protagonists, all of whom are standing at that moment between their twenties and thirties when one realizes there are more impossibilities than possibilities for one's future. And even more impressively, she does it and without ever once letting the writing itself feel inert. While The Clasp jumps up and down on the link between the crazy caper side of the story and its emotional core—clasps are for closing necklaces, but also for hugging friends—a little hard at times, Victor, Nathaniel, and Kezia are so vividly frustrating and familiar that the novel emerges as deeply pleasing. LAUREN HOFFMAN

ART
Take Turn: The Finale
You’ve heard of an exquisite corpse drawing, probably, or if you haven’t, you’ve probably still been part of making one in an art class at some point—it’s a drawing where one person puts down a part, then the next person, without looking at the first, adds her own part, and on and on until the paper is filled with a segmented beast of a thing. Turn, this year-long collaborative series, is something like a sculptural exquisite corpse. It was artist Shaun Kardinal’s idea, and he selected the participants. How it works is that a different artist takes a turn transforming a single piece each month. Stop by this month to see the final result of the last year of rebirths. JEN GRAVES

FILM
Science and a Movie: Anaconda
This screening of Anaconda (the story about searching the Amazon jungle for a legendary anaconda, starring Jennifer Lopez, Eric Stoltz, and Ice Cube) is prefaced by a presentation on snakes by local herpetologists Leonard Jones and Dr. Rory Telemeco.

COMEDY
Comedy Nest Open Mic
The rules of this pro-lady stand-up night (which was recently changed from the women-only Comedy Womb to include all genders) are refreshing in their simplicity: no misogyny, racism, homophobia, hatred, or heckling. Seattle-based comedian and cohost of the HugLife podcast Mike Coletta will headline tonight's show, along with special guests Jenny Young, Ryan Bard, and Katie Boyle.

WEDNESDAY
READINGS & TALKS
Making the Black Dog Sit: A Look at Suicide Through Poetry
When you're talking about a topic as intensely personal as suicide, you want to be talking with an open and honest person who has been there. Preferably one with a sense of humor. Matthew Dickman is your man. He's a compelling, dynamic reader, a very funny human being, and an engaging conversationalist. He's also been there. In 2007, his older brother committed suicide. Ever since, and especially in his last book of poems, Mayakovsky's Revolver, Dickman has used his great narrative and lyric skill to write poems that plunge the depths of his own grief and of his brother's consciousness—trying to imagine his state of mind, the room he was in, the last loop of logic he considered before the end. At Hugo House, he'll talk about his brother's suicide and the ways he uses poetry to articulate what can't be articulated about that experience. RICH SMITH

Lit Fix 14: The Women of Summer
The theme of this Lit Fix (Seattle's "dive-friendliest" reading and music series, which brings together books, bars, and bands all in one place) is The Women of Summer. It will feature readings by local all-stars including EJ Koh, Monica Drake, Corina Zappia, Andrea Dunlop, and Lana McMullen. All proceeds will go towards the The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas.

Citizen Activism in the Age of Bernie
Local figure and longtime City Council member Nick Licata will lead a discussion based on his book, Becoming a Citizen Activist: Stories, Strategies, and Advice for Changing Our World, and talk candidly about achieving social activism goals with panelists including Mozart Guerrier, Pramila Jayapal, and Ben Lindsey.

FILM
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
This great movie by the great John Cassavetes stars the great Ben Gazzara. He plays a small-time strip-club owner whose only problem in the world is his huge gambling debt. The film, which was released in 1976, is just too cool (the clothes, the music, the diversity of the strippers) for words, and it has an ending that, if seen for the first time, will leave a permanent impression on your soul. To use the words of the critic Barley Blair: “Who needs drugs when we have Cassavetes?”

ART
Carrie Bodle
This artist talk/lecture series organized by Hami Bohadori and Matt Bell promises a take on the intersection of commercial and academic art through a variety of forms of communication, from performances and presentations to lectures and "beneficial experiences." This time, hear from artist and lecturer Carrie Bodle.

THURSDAY
THEATER
Nights at the Neptune: Blanket of Fear
As part of this free summer series at the Neptune, STG will present this theater performance about the "war on terror," following a couple (half white, half not) held at the airport under suspicion of terrorism.

FOOD & DRINK
Guest Chef Night with Lisa Dupar
FareStart is a fantastic organization that empowers disadvantaged and homeless men and women by training them for work in the restaurant industry. Every Thursday, they host a Guest Chef Night, featuring a three-course dinner from a notable Seattle chef for just $29.95. This week FareStart welcomes chef and cookbook author Lisa Dupar (Pomegranate Bistro), who will be joined by Bridget Charters, Monique Barbeau (Tom Douglas Hot Stove Society), Kim Smith (South Seattle Community College pastry instructor), and Sue McCown (Starbucks).

Sundae Flight Date Night
Before the Cookie Counter (a new vegan ice creamery, bakery, and espresso shop) opens their brick-and-mortar store later this month, be one of the first people to see the new location at this event. The $65 ticket price includes table service and a flight of three sundaes for two, which will be served in mini sundae dishes. A Cookie Counter tote bag, bag of Anchorhead coffee, and an assortment of breakfast pastries to go are also included in the ticket price. If that's not enough, $10 of your ticket price will go to the Coyote Central youth classes program, and you'll get to see artwork from Rich Hall that's hanging in the space.

MUSIC
The Light That Fills The World: A Meditation in Sound and Light
This is a lineup of various ways that music can approach space rather than time, can merge with landscapes that are internal and external. Julia Wolfe’s My Beautiful Scream is her slow-motion scream, as she describes it, after the events of September 11 happened outside her windows in New York. John Cage’s 4’33” is the famous composition in which the performer only waits silently at the piano for the duration of the title, bracketing and framing the existing noise as it arises. John Luther Adams’s The Light That Fills the World is his portrait of Alaskan light and ice; Philip Glass’s The Light, from 1987, was one of the first minimalist works for full orchestra; and Morton Feldman’s Piano and Orchestra is completely unlike any other piano concerto you’ll ever hear (and see). JEN GRAVES

ART
SALT Pecha Kucha: Ethics in the Arts
Local arts leaders will give fast-paced presentations (20 slides, each for 20 seconds) about "organization integrity and artists as change agents." Featuring Stranger favorites including Sandy Cioffi (filmmaker), Adam Nishimura (Sawhorse Revolution), Regan Pro (Seattle Art Museum), Andrew Russell (INTIMAN Theatre), Shontina Vernon (artist), Tariqa Waters (Artist/ Martyr Sauce).

FRIDAY
FOOD & DRINK
Fabulous Fish Fridays
Seattle isn’t necessarily known for its British culinary scene. But Fabulous Fish Fridays, a collaboration between Machine House Brewery and Nosh food truck, could change that. Machine House is the city’s only brewery dedicated to English-style cask ales—lower in alcohol, more malty than hoppy. Easy drinking ales such as the Best Bitter and Golden are served at cellar temperature and poured from traditional wood-and-brass hand pumps. They pair beautifully with Nosh’s British fish and chips, composed of one long fillet of Pacific cod that’s dipped in a beer batter, fried to a gorgeous golden brown, and served with hearty fried potatoes as well as a verdant mash of peas and mint. It’s a match made in heaven, and you get to experience it every Friday evening in Georgetown. ANGELA GARBES

ART
World of WearableArt™ Opening Night
Celebrate the opening of World of WearableArt™, New Zealand's largest art show and a tribute to artwork carried on the body, with a 21+ evening of art and performance that includes aerialists, stilt walkers, live musicians, interactive demos and activities, special guests, and more. If there's any time to wear that too-bold outfit rotting in your closet, it's now.

Pat DeCaro: Foreign Shores
We talk about immersive art. Virtual reality. Art you physically enter and allow it to take over. Seattle artist Pat DeCaro's installation Foreign Shores takes over the controls of your body and mind in the old-fashioned way. Like a novelist, she presents a keyhole, and you slip through before you know it, propelled by desire. DeCaro is a master with charcoal and pastel, color and shading. JEN GRAVES (Closes Today)

PERFORMANCE
Camptacular!
Drag burlesque duo Kitten 'n' Lou bring a new (wet, hot, American) summer theater treat to Seattle with Camptacular! This performance will be a contemporary dance, drag, and burlesque Bomb Pop featuring Stranger Genius Award winner Cherdonna, contemporary dancer Markeith Wiley, ever-rising star Waxie Moon, and special guest Jeez Loueez, who, according to my extensive YouTube video searches, blends twerk and burlesque to great effect. Go. You'll be a happy camper. RICH SMITH (Through Sunday)

Spin the Bottle
This is Seattle's longest-running cabaret and has seen just about everything—dance, theater, comedy, paper airplanes, tears, stunts, music, romance—from just about everyone.

SATURDAY
MUSIC
Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs
Alan Cumming, he of the countercultural film and television career, spry Broadway-worthy and Tony-Award-winning voice, and infamous perfume commercial, will be swinging from the rafters of Town Hall. He brings with him a setlist sure to be filled with stage and screen classics, and many tunes of the titular theme.

KEXP Rocks the Dock
It’s never a bad time to catch up with the Northwest acts on this KEXP-endorsed Rocks the Dock bill, but it doesn’t get much better than now. In May, Seattle songwriter, producer, and engineer Erik Blood (Shabazz Palaces, THEESatisfaction) received his second Stranger Genius Award nomination. The recognition followed the release of his sophomore long-player, Lost in Slow Motion, a searching, multilayered reflection on romantic loss: Think A.R. Kane meets Flying Lotus. Michael Benjamin Lerner’s fourth full-length as Telekinesis, the vintage-synth-saturated Ad Infinitum, recalls peak-era OMD in its atmospheric introspection. Portland singer-guitarist Jessica Boudreaux’s Summer Cannibals, recent signees to Kill Rock Stars, round out the bill with their fuzzed-out, high-octane take on garage rock. Late-night KEXP DJ Evie will be spinning records between sets. KATHY FENNESSY

PERFORMANCE
Mimosas with Mama
Mama Tits's show, "30 Minute-ish Chicago," features all your favorite songs from the Broadway show plus some elaborate quick-change drag-queen magic. But that's not all. The musical is just the culmination of the experience: The first half of the two-ish hour experience is a delightful drag cabaret/brunch buffet, with singing, dancing, comedy, and more naughty entendres than you can shake a stick at. And, by popular demand, they've extended it one extra week—so don't miss your chance to see this. MATT BAUME (Through Sunday)

ART
Carmen Vetter: Surface
Carmen Vetter takes two approaches to surfaces in this exhibition of her new works in glass and photography. She creates aerial maps of cities using glass powder that she piles up and fires, piles up and fires, until it sparkles like colored moon dust. Her black-and-white photographs are abstract, resembling rolling hills seen from a great distance in noir light. The truth is that each one is a portrait of a surface of her own body, which due to dramatic weight loss has loose skin she struggles not to be ashamed of. Rather than hiding it, she reveals it as a landscape with its own wonders. JEN GRAVES (Closes Today)

Cover Reveals
Curated by Julia Freeman, Cover Reveals is an exhibit featuring 12 garments/statements made by 14 artists from around the world: Ellen Lesperance, Dr. micha cárdenas, Ari Fish, Dorothy Cheng, Natalie Martínez and Lindsay Miller, Joey Veltkamp, Kate Daudy, Jono Vaughan, Michael Cepress, Sarah Norsworthy and Krista Schoening, Shenequa Alexandria Brooks, and Man Fung-yi. (Closes Today)

Krista Svalbonas
Krista Svalbonas is a Chicago-based mixed media artist showing a new segment of work from her Migrants series in an exhibition she calls Topophilia. Using photography and collage, she's built twisted architectures that jut out slightly from the wall, inching into the actual world but only just. Are they dismantled or re-forming? Both, maybe. JEN GRAVES (Closes Today)

Sherry Markovitz: Time to Take a Walk
For years, Sherry Markovitz has made paintings and sculptures that contain a certain stillness. Heads of animals covered in beads. Piles of dolls fixed in paint on silk and cotton sheets, their clothing roaring but their eyes blank. After Markovitz's beloved dog died two years ago, the artist continued taking their daily walk to the dog park, alone. She began to find watching the dogs relaxing. Then she began to find that they were teaching her how to draw and paint movement, for the first time. Somehow death made motion possible. The dogs, meanwhile, neither know nor care that we are here, or that we are watching. They just do dog, together, without us. JEN GRAVES (Closes Today)

SUNDAY
PERFORMANCE
Weird and Awesome with Emmett Montgomery
On the first Sunday of each month, comedy, variety, and "a parade of wonder and awkward sharing" are hosted by the self-proclaimed "mustache wizard" Emmett Montgomery.

ART
Martha Rosler: Below the Surface
During the Vietnam War, the young artist Martha Rosler took to the streets with the rest of the horrified protesters watching what the United States was perpetrating. She noticed people ignoring the flyers that were being handed out, because they were walls of text, impenetrable. She decided to make flyers that were nothing but images, just using a Xerox machine and pictures from magazines and other media. Much later, those became "fine art" objects displayed in museums and titled House Beautiful: Bringing the War Home, as they are here at SAM. Just don't forget where they come from. JEN GRAVES (Closes July 4)