Why I Host Literary Salons & Ten Reading/Performance Tips

Often people don’t recognize the value of their creative expression until they share it.

That’s why I host literary salons featuring my students and their work.

Something wonderful happens when you stand in front of an audience and share your creative writing. Hearing people laugh or sigh, knowing when you’ve got their attention—and when you don’t—provides invaluable information to writers. Reading in public is a great way to hone your ear and your instincts, but it also helps connect writers with readers/listeners, and hear first-hand the way(s) in which their work moves people.

I also host salons as a way of sharing and celebrating my students’ courage, talent, and growth. No one’s being judged or evaluated. We assemble in a spirit of camaraderie and fun. We eat. We drink. Students from one class listen to students from the other class read. Friends and family are invited. Or not.

The work ranges in style and subject matter. It’s funny, sad, outrageous, truthful, ballsy, imaginative, and heartfelt. My students excavate the depths and bring forward images, moments, events, and stories from their lives and from their imagination, which inspire the mind and delight the soul—though most of what my students read are works in progress. “Don’t get it right, get it written,” I tell my students, quoting James Thurber. Sure we fiddle with words once they’ve landed on the page, but perfection is not what we’re after here.

Reading for an audience offers my student the chance to stand in their truth. It’s empowering. Established and emerging writers discover strengths they didn’t know they had.

But it can also be daunting, especially when what you’re reading is intimate, or if your writing describes personal events you’ve never shared with anyone before. Here are a few tips I give my students before they read at my salons:

1. Choose your best work. Or something you really want to share. Selecting something scary can be liberating, but remember you don’t have to read anything you’re not ready to read, and you’re not here to prove anything to anyone.
   
   
2. When you walk up to the podium, take possession of the space. Make it your own. Raise or lower the podium and adjust the microphone so your voice will be heard clearly.
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3. Make yourself comfortable. Stand with both feet flat on the floor about hip-distance apart, or wider if you want to feel more grounded. Place your hands to your sides or gently on the podium. Do not clasp your hands behind your back or in front of your body. Do not fidget. See if you can find a relaxed stillness. Breathe.
   
   
4. This is not a hard and fast rule, but unlike public speaking, it’s best not to make eye contact with the audience while reading, especially when the content is intimate. When you read, your audience peers into the life of your story. When you look up at them, and make eye contact, it breaks the spell and is uncomfortable for the listener, who wants to follow along in quiet anonymity.
   
   
5. Read slower than you think you should. Take your time. Practice at home in front of a mirror. Record yourself.
   
   
6. Be mindful of the time limit and do not exceed your allotted time. Again, practice at home. Time your work. You can say a lot in five minutes. You can pack a punch with one great sentence. Less can definitely be more—especially when you are one of ten or twelve people on the program.
   
   
7. Introduce your work, but don’t make excuses for it. If the piece you’re reading was inspired by another writer give them credit. My students write off prompts I glean from poems. Include the prompt and poet’s name in your presentation.
   
   
8. Enjoy yourself. The salon is also a party.
   
   
9. Take in whatever compliments come your way, but don’t depend on them. Embrace feedback that feels constructive. Welcome what feels right and ignore the rest. The word “author” appears in the word “authority.”  You are the authority and the author of your work and your life. Trust yourself and don’t be too concerned with others’ opinions.
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10. Acknowledge yourself for the courage it takes to stand up and read your work to an audience. Congratulate yourself. Celebrate. Keep writing, and keep challenging yourself as you learn and grow.
    
    

My next literary salon is Sunday, July 1st, at 5:00 p.m., in Studio City, California. If you’d like to join us for the reading and potluck dinner, contact me. Space is limited so you must R.S.V.P. The summer salon is held in our garden. I hope you’ll join us for a warm and an inspiring evening!

I’d love to hear from those of you who have attended my salons. What do you enjoy most about them? Did you read or were you a guest?