From the body of the room to the front of it

I’m usually part of the body of the room at the monthly Open Mic in the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar, wondering, in a last-minute surge of self-doubt, if I should change what I’m planning to read.

Last night, however, I was temporarily promoted from the ranks and installed at the front as the featured reader. It felt like being called up from the subs’ bench, but thankfully there was no major deficit to be rescued.

I read an extract from On The Way Out, some work from the follow-up novel I’m currently working on, and a short piece from a story that will appear in a forthcoming Bog anthology from Mayo Books Press, edited by Alice Kinsella. The featured reader slot lasts for about twenty minutes.

The format of the night (which I’ve written about before here) is simple and generous: everyone gets up to five minutes. It might be a poem, a piece of prose or an extract from something longer. Last night we even had a song.

Buy On The Way Out in your local bookstore or from our online store

One of the great things about the evening is that there is almost always someone attending for the first time, and often someone reading publicly for the first time as well. It’s what people sometimes call a “safe space” – a phrase that’s almost impossible to love, but relevant in this setting.

It was a great night.

Events like this are invaluable. They give writers and readers a place to try things out, to listen and to chat with others exercising their creativity.

Huge thanks to Edel Burke and Fiona Neary for organising it every month, and for inviting me to be the featured reader last night.

 

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