It all started with a spoken word performance that Kaitlin Meadows and I devised for Other Voices Women’s Reading Series. Kaitlin is a fabulous poet so her part was to read some of her poems related to books. Not being a poet or author, I didn’t have anything to read. Instead I made a list of the Most Important Books in my life and shared it with the audience, telling stories about how select books are connected to important events in my life.

What I didn’t expect from this experience is that other people wanted to share their Most Important Books with me and “tada!”, a workshop was born. It seems that hearing stories is one way of getting inspired to share your own tale. You can see this at any social gathering where one story triggers another. Sometimes the urge is to “top” the last teller and the narratives get more and more outrageous.

The other night I was having dinner with some friends and I talked about how the experience of asking for help after I had surgery had given me new insight in how to receive gratefully and gracefully. My sharing stirred stories of similar occurrences in their lives and I was amazed at how quickly the exchange became deeper.  Often personal stories can bring the conversation to a more intimate and (for me) satisfying place. Half of storytelling is listening and my friends are very good listeners.

I found this quote by Ben Okri recently, “Reading, like writing, is a creative act. If readers only bring a narrow range of themselves to the book, then they’ll only see their narrow range reflected in it.” I think the same thing applies to listening.

Bibliobiography workshop: Record the story of your life using the books you love. October 17 & 24, 2 to 4 p.m. at Antigone Books.  Contact them at 792-3715 to register.

The Other Voices Women’s Reading Series, organized by poet Liza Porter, has been a consistent monthly event for many years thanks in part to the dedication of Ms Porter and in part to the wealth of talented women writers in Southern Arizona.  The event started as a poetry reading but has morphed into presenting female writers of all sorts and sometimes an occasional performance piece.

On Friday, August 14, at 7 p.m. you can hear readers Roz Spafford and Shawn Finn  at Antigone Books, 411 North 4th Ave.  The reading will be followed by an open mic and it’s important to arrive 15 minutes early if you’d like to sign up to read.

Roz Spafford‘s book Requiem won the 2008 Gell Poetry Prize.  She has been a writer, teacher and activist for the last three decades. Until recently she taught writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz and wrote book reviews and a newspaper column of media and cultural criticism, called Mediations.  Her poetry and fiction have appeared in numerous literary magazines.  Ms. Spafford grew up on a cattle ranch in northwestern Arizona and is currently living with her family and writing in Canada.

Shawn Finn is a feminist, a poet, and creative nonfiction writer.  Her poetry explores personal experience, spirituality, the beauties of nature, and the faces of the Goddess. She has been published in Of a Like Mind and Sagewoman. She lives in the beautiful Sonoran Desert.

This event is supported by Poets & Writers, Inc.