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A decade ago, Springs-based Lisa Dickler Awano was a writer looking for other authors in her community.
She found them.
On Saturday, June 11, Ms. Awano will curate the Barnes Landing Association’s 10th annual “Writers Reading and Irish Sing,” where both published and amateur authors will share 5-minute-long readings of their own works.
“One of the most important things is that we’ve come to see ourselves connected with one another,” she said. “This reminds us that literature is a part of our daily lives. It’s not a star system. It’s something that’s a part of all of us.
In recent years, the event has featured the musical stylings of Terence Sullivan, who leads a sing-along to English and Gaelic tunes.
“It only makes sense to get the audience participation in,” Ms. Awano said. “This is the center of the arts. Sometimes when you hear about the Hamptons, it’s this great monolith, and it really isn’t.
Above all, the event celebrates community, Ms. Awano said, pointing out that the readings are always dedicated to the memories of Barnes Landing residents who have died in the past year. This year, Chris Floros, Marion Good, Stanley McGrath and Lynn Seaman will be honored.
Poet Carole Stone, who has participated in the reading since its inception, said she plans on trying out four of her new poems on the audience. She said she hopes the listeners can relate to her works’ overlying themes of suburban angst.
“It’s a fantastic community and it’s a wonderful way to celebrate the writers, the authors, who do live among us,” she said. “It just makes for a good spirit, getting neighbors out and also showing the quality of what we can do.”
Writer Fran Castan will read from her memoir-in-progress about her first husband, Sam, who was killed in Vietnam.
“It’s the 45th anniversary of his death there, and this is something I’d like to share,” she said. “Every year someone new shows up and you hear new things.”
Other readers will include Martin Tucker, Jill Morris, Jim Landesman, Arlyne Landesman, Ramesh Das, Hiroo Dickler Awano and Ms. Awano.
“This is a place where art and daily life intersect, it’s not just a place where the emphasis is on publicity or commercialism,” Ms. Awano said. “It’s seeing the arts as something crucial, something relevant and that appreciation of one another and our surroundings. That’s a large part of what makes life meaningful.”
The Barnes Landing Association will host the “10th Annual Writers Reading and Irish Sing” on Saturday, June 11, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Barnes Landing Association Meetinghouse in Springs. For more information, email LDAwano@gmail.com.
Michelle Trauring on Jun 6, 2011