We've gotten a bit of feedback about our story yesterdayon the Read 'N Greet event at the Seattle Public Library.
On Monday, Friends of the Seattle Public Library asked the candidates for Seattle mayor to read aloud from their favorite books.
Architect and former city councilmember Peter Steinbrueck made a choice that had some people scratching their heads and squirming in their seats.
Steinbrueck read from "The Conjure Woman," a selection of short stories written by African-American writer Charles Chestnutt in the aftermath of the Civil War.
The stories are narrated by a white man, but feature a former slave named Julius as the main storyteller.
Julius' dialogue is written entirely in dialect. Steinbrueck struggled mightily to perform his selection, speaking in what sounded like the voice of a Southern black former slave.
Click on the "listen" arrow above to hear Steinbrueck's entire reading.
You can read the entire text of "The Conjure Woman" here, courtesy of the University of North Carolina's "Documenting the American South" Digital Publishing Initiative.
And if you want to see all of the candidates for Seattle mayor reading their selections (all nine minus Doug McQuaid), here's the videotape courtesy of the Seattle Channel.
