Moths and Poems

One of my favorite things of late is "The Moth." Have you heard it? The basic gist is this: people-- most of them ordinary, some of them famous-- go on stage and tell a story about a particular theme. There are slams, where ten or so people compete and can move on to bigger and grander competitions, but more than that, they are a chance to hear some fine storytelling. You may have heard stories from "The Moth" on "This American Life." My friends Brooke and Dan invited us to a Moth Slam in LA around the holidays, and it was about as entertaining as an evening can be. Add a beer and some chicken wings and you're talking about close to heavenly. We also got to judge, and let me tell you, even the lowest scoring stories had something to give.

The concept emerged when a poet by the name of George Dawes Green wished to recreate those "sultry Southern evenings" of storytelling on Wanda's porch back in Georgia. The first show took place in his living room in New York, and now they're all over. We get the podcast and the other night listened to the former editor of Paris Vogue describe her experience with a haunted French apartment. We also listened to a man talk about how he decided not to kill himself. They run the gamut from funny to breathtaking the same way a good essay collection would.

So, when I say they are "all over," I mean, and here's why I'm writing about this here and now: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and... DETROIT! Watch out Detroit... you're gonna get some pretty discerning Moth judges this summer. Check it out.

Since we're sharing Brooke-related issues, I thought I'd also share this photo essay that she drew my attention to. It ends with a quite lovely poem. Perhaps it will get you brainstorming about a project you'd like to do this summer when you join us in Detroit!