Open Mic night for poets and writers
WRITERS, POETS AND ARTISTS GET A FORUM
They come to read a story they’ve written for toddlers, they come to describe a favorite chair in their home, they come to repeat a favorite part of a hero’s life, they come to tell of murder and mayhem or of hilarious moments in their lives, they come to talk about friendship and compassion, of romance, or of loss. They come on Open Mic nights in Greenwich.
Now in its second year in Greenwich, Open Mic nights were initiated and overseen by town resident Diane Tunick Morello. Popular throughout the country as venues for musicians, Open Mics for writers, poets or even artists are difficult to come by. Diane was determined to change that.
The idea for Open Mic, Diane says, came to her when she joined the Greenwich Branch of American Pen Women, an organization of professional women writers, artists and musicians committed to encouraging and inspiring excellence in original work. An important component of the organization is critical review by peers. Diane wanted creatives to have a place to present their work without overview. She also wanted a place where these creatives and their audience townspeople could meet one another in a friendly, enjoyable environment.
“Open Mic is a particularly appealing way for people to have their work heard without critical review,” says Diane. “The sessions are very open, and people are very generous in their appreciation of the work of the speakers.”
No stranger to stage presence, Diane is an experienced public speaker. As an analyst and marketing VP for 30 years with Gartner, a research and advisory company, Diane was at ease during ad hoc spontaneous forums before strangers. She knew how to clearly convey her message before a full house. She also has a long history of performing—and singing—in amateur productions, such as Curtain Call in Stamford and as a part of amateur theater in Florida and New Jersey, her former homes. While she admits that that it is an acquired skill, Diane feels strongly that over time anyone can also acquire the ease to speak publicly.
Ever since her retirement from Gartner in 1997, Diane was determined to take just about every class that appealed to her as a writer and as someone receptive to many areas of learning. She wanted to find out who were the people in her town, and what the town and different organizations offered that would be interesting to pursue. She wanted to learn how to write fiction and is currently engrossed in writing a murder mystery that has her Pen pals eagerly anticipating each new chapter.
“I find myself richer afterwards, that maybe I’ve done something that I haven’t done before,” she muses, “meeting people that I haven’t met before. Certainly by attending the writing classes at libraries and adult continuing education, you learn critical thinking, you learn to complete assignments and you get excited to be a “yes, I can do, I will do” person.
“When I have an opportunity to try something new — a class, a role, an assignment, a public engagement — I seize it. Saying yes allows me to meet new people and try new things. I take time to determine whether it’s a fit for me and a fit for my energy, and if it is, I stick with it, and if it’s not, I pass on it.” .
She took up fly fishing and community gardening. She volunteered at organizations from one end of Greenwich to the other. She wanted, Diane says, to give back to Greenwich that same feeling of accomplishment that she enjoys.
To that end, she brought her professional expertise to facilitate and moderate book discussions (“Behold the Dreamers,” ”Fahrenheit 451” and “Machines like Me” at the Perrot Library). That was an easy role as moderator for her, Diane says, because “it was built on skills I created working with clients in ad hoc discussions. I come in [to book discussions] with what I think would be rough ideas with appropriate themes, and I direct people’s conversation in a particular way to engage them and that has worked really well.”
And engage them she does. Her latest endeavor in that regard is the recent haiku poetry contest she joined as one of the judges in conjunction with Perrot Library. There were 114 submissions in the ancient art of haiku, an unrhymed Japanese poetic form.
The three Open Mic sessions last year were held in branches of Greenwich library and because of their success, Diane was invited to present Open Mic at the main location this year as part of the “Imagine Your Story” Adult Summer Reading program. The prospect excites her, not only because she considers the invitation a validation of all she has worked for but also because many more people would be aware of Open Mic and Pen Women. And they would feel comfortable, she adds, because “libraries are safe environments.” The next Open Mic in Greenwich is scheduled on July 8 on zoom.com. Open to everyone, each presentation is limited to five minutes.
“There is no critique,” Diane emphasizes. “We are simply sharing what you have worked on and perhaps agonized over. I would love to get musicians and artists to talk about what inspired them, what drove them. With Zoom, musicians can accompany themselves on their instruments at home and artists can show their work,” Diane says, then adds some good advice:
“Choose something that lets you shine.”
“WE ARE SIMPLY SHARING WHAT YOU HAVE WORKED ON AND PERHAPS AGONIZED OVER.”