The difference between reading and hearing a great poem or story can be the difference between confetti in a bag at Party City and the magic of a million little paper snowflakes fluttering down at the end of a celebration. Though we all grow up to learn to enjoy reading, there is something much more communal and human about gathering to hear the compositions of storytellers who are worthy of their peers’ attention and of the words themselves. Jim Hanna, a third-year MFA candidate, knew from talking to his peers in Dialogue, the MFA student-run workshop group he coordinates, that this was an outlet the Butler program needed. So he created a recurring, casual reading series that serves as a complement to Dialogue‘s workshops that run during the year. The latest event, “A Midsummer Night’s Reading 2: Electric Much Ado,” takes place at the Efroymson Center for Creative Writing at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. The reading is open to the public.
“The Midsummer Night’s Readings, like all the readings we do, have two purposes,” Hanna says. “The first, naturally, is to entertain. Readings should be fun, so I often encourage writers to read their most provocative, funny, or poignant work. The second purpose, because we’re all students, is to learn. These readings are attended by the same people you’re in classes with. These are low-pressure events. We’re all there to have fun, to be supportive, and also to provide an audience.”
For the same reason MFA students might encourage their Creative Writing Camp students to read their work aloud, the Dialogue readings are a chance for participants to hear how their work actually sounds, to listen to their characters come to life in front of an audience. Sometimes a tough, fast-talking wise guy is fun to write and seems natural on the page, but reading it aloud might make you realize you’ve just been ripping off Goodfellas for 200 pages. “Readers learn a lot about their work when they read it aloud, or at least they learn something different than they would learn if they workshopped it,” Hanna says.
Of course, there’s another, more primal urge that motivates MFA students to show up to the ECCW during the summer months.
“The other great thing about our readings is the food,” Hanna says. “Everyone brings a dish, and it seems that an unspoken requirement of the program is that you must be talented in the kitchen. We’ve had some excellent spreads in the past.”
No pressure, first-years.
Hanna hopes to keep the reading momentum going for the rest of the year, aiming to put on two events per semester–perhaps aligned with the holidays to excuse the consumption of large amounts of food and/or chocolate. “We’re planning on having one around Halloween and one around Thanksgiving in the Fall,” Hanna says. “And probably another Valentine’s Day reading and maybe an Easter Reading.”
With both facets of Dialogue, the purpose has always been simple: to encourage writers to be active as much as possible, gathering, sharing, and refining their work in a somewhat-structured, supportive environment.
“Our goal should ultimately be to outgrow the structures of the program, to become full-fledged, disciplined writers who will continue to carve time out of their busy lives, even though no one is paying them for it, and there are no more deadlines,” Hanna says. “But the truth is we all need support, no matter where we are in our careers. Which is one reason we’re open both to current students and alumni.”
Hanna welcomes both poets and fiction writers to join in the group. Culinary skill may or may not be a factor in your work’s reception during any given reading. To win the crowd over, we recommend bringing a very large jar of Nutella and 30 spoons.