It rained on Saturday, poured really, and I didn’t carry an umbrella. But as I parked my car, turned off the engine, and ran inside, I thought little about getting wet and more about the Anthology reading that afternoon. I’d arrived half an hour early, and I was nervous, unsure what to expect but hoping for a fun and well-attended event for the Seniors whose work was printed in the book.
I wasn’t the only one anxious and eager. When I walked into the lobby, Betty, one of the writers, was there as well. She had her story in hand and a frustrated look and said the room wasn’t set up yet. What we discovered upon talking with the manager was that the room had been prepared, but for a tiny audience of five. The manager asked me how many people I anticipated, and I looked to Betty. We both shrugged. I said at least ten. Betty said fifteen. We were both wrong. The room filled up with at least thirty.
The majority of those in the audience were fellow residents of Harwood Place, which added to the energy (and maybe the nerves) of the readers. I love the Seniors’ stories from the perspective of a writer and someone interested in the experience of past generations. The other residents, though, seem to appreciate them on a deeper, more personal level, breaking out in a laughter that was clearly from a place of total understanding and falling into quiet during a serious moment of shared experience.
It was then I knew that all the work in the past months, weeks, and days, was worth it, and this event was exactly as is should be.
What happened after the reading came to a close made the event even more special. Those audience members? They lingered well past the applause. Not just for the coffee and cookies either. They sat in circles and visited with each other, and the writers worked the room. Clyde, who has lived at Harwood Place for several years, said to me, “Look at everyone still here! This is unheard of. We’ve hit a hot button, I tell you.”
He’s right, as every bit of this experience–the writing class, these stories, the reading–speaks of the importance in gathering at the table.
In Community.
I’m so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful group.
You don’t have anything / if you don’t have the stories.
~ from CEREMONY, Leslie Marmon Silko
