Dear Writers:

The series has spontaneously taken off at our open mic! It may have been Vince Landi who started it with his story “Two Painters,” but rather than worry about shaving an excerpt to fit the 7-minute time limit or trying to read a story at the speed of light, writers are bringing a story to read over the course of two or three open mics.

And the crowd loves it!

Our June theme was Bounty of the Seasons, so of course I brought my copy of Edible Selby, a book about gardens, kitchens, restaurants, and homes and the amazing people who run them.

Another element that threatened to make itself an open mic tradition this time out is The Shag.

Yep, that glorious disaster of a haircut that your own momma or the kid next door could give you while you sat on a kitchen chair in the bathroom even if she’d never spent a day in hairdressing school, and which any of us of a certain age most likely proudly sported above our legwarmers at one time or another, thanks to Jane Fonda, Pat Benatar, and the oh-so-dreamy David Cassidy/Keith Partridge.

Shags these days, called by many other names, are far more sophisticated, but it was those brave early ’80s haircuts that paved the way for the luscious locks we see today.

So anyhoo . . .

The delightful Sabine Sloley opened the night with an excerpt from “Chip and Kitten Go to the Beach,” a continuation of a story she started reading to us in April. One mark of a good story is that we can remember it, and I for one readily recalled these characters and the situation and was excited to see what next turn of events awaited them. This is a tale in which the girl from the character’s dreams turns out to be real, but it’s not going to be a romance, but then again it might. Continue reading →

Dear Writers:

Okaaaayyy! Sorry this is late but I hope you enjoy a recap of March’s open mic. It was another great evening full of stories, poetry, laughter, and reflection. I always leave the open mics feeling jazzed up about writing. Someone told me they call it karaoke, which is a great nickname, although I didn’t see any lip synching and all the material was fully original!

David Axelrod launched the night with a gorgeous poem called “What If?” and established himself as a great new member of our open mic crowd. Welcome, David! Open mic regular Jim Milstead brought a couple memories, including “Air Borne” as well as some April Fool’s jokes to welcome the new month. Lori Nelson Clouts read “The Lie Detector Test,” the opening to a short story detailing the scenario of a woman encountering a job interview that includes a polygraph—not your everyday job interview! [Lori, I’m not sure I’m correctly reading my own handwriting, so if I got your last name wrong, please correct me. Thanks.]

Along came Shannon Hager with “Raised with Bush Devils,” a tale of a character’s introduction into a secret society in Africa. We can count on Shannon to keep things lively. Next was the inimitable Susan Chase Foster, fresh back from Hawaii (the brat), with poetry including “Kauai Time” plus a ‘backyard composition’ entitled “The Advantage of Being a Squirrel.” Curtis Alden joined our lineup with a torch poem about those breakups that aren’t really breakups until they are. Ouch, but great poem. Continue reading →