As a producer and occasional performer for the past few years I’ve learned what Rita Mae Brown says so well: “Language exerts hidden power, like the moon on the tides”.  Spoken Word artists and writers employ the same basic tool, words.  How and where they use them is part of the mystique of the two separate yet connected artforms.  Mark Amidon says: “Language is the means of getting an idea from my brain into yours without surgery.”

Communicating meanings or feelings is the essential goal and there are many ways to get there.  Reading, listening, watching a performance, participating in spoken word events, all can produce the ultimate experience of understanding someone else’s creative expression.  Fellini explained it in this way: “A different language is a different vision of life.”

Chuck Larkin is talking specifically about storytelling when he writes: “All branches to various degrees are forms of entertainment and information transfer”, and I think the same applies to writing.

Writers reading their work or performers writing out their performance blur the lines.  There really aren’t any lines, it’s a continuum of the same craft.  The most important thing is the keep practicing, keep moving the pen and/or getting in front of an audience.  Colette said: “Writing only leads to more writing” and the same can be said about most creative endeavors.

To sum up, Jane Wagner puts it in perspective this way:  “I personally believe we developed language because of our deep inner need to complain.”

Saving Money And Having Fun

Odyssey Storytelling was recently featured on the website Tucson On The Cheap , and it made me think about what a value Spoken Word events are.  From a free book reading and signing to a $7 two-hour storytelling show, you can get a lot of entertainment and not break the bank.

If you don’t’ believe me, compare these prices to some other typical amusements.  Steve Earle will be at the Rialto Theater and it will cost you $27 or $33.  An Arizona Diamondbacks single ticket ranges from Clubhouse Box for $240 to outfield reserve (whatever that is ) for $5 .  Tickets to see Bette Midler in Vegas will set you back $117 to $272.  See what I mean?

Here are some free book reading events coming up.

J.A. Jance signs and discusses her new mystery book, Fire and Ice,  from 7 to 9 p.m., Thursday, August 6, at Mostly Books, 6208 E. Speedway Blvd.

Rev. Run, hip-hop icon, father of six and an ordained minister and his wife Justine Simmons sign their book Take Back Your Family at the Eastside Barnes and Noble, 5130 E. Broadway, on August 7 at 6 p.m.

Kyrsten Sinema, a Democratic Representative in the Arizona State Legislature, reads from her new book Unite and Conquer: How to Build Coalitions That Win and Last on Friday, August 28, 2009 7:00 p.m. at Antigone Books , 411 North 4th Ave.

Author Kate Mathis signs copies of her new book Living Lies from noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, August 29. at the eclectic 17^th Street Market , 840 E. 17th St.

It’s a little slow this time of year but things really pick up in the fall.  Two other Tucson independent bookstores that have occasional readings are Clues Unlimited, 3146 E. Fort Lowell Road; and The Book Stop, 214 North 4th Avenue

For the kids, don’t forget story time at various Tucson Pima Library and Bookman locations.

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.