The Madison Library will hold a Story Slam featuring the works of Edgar Allan Poe on Thursday, October 18 at 7 pm, in the library’s John F. Chick Meeting Room. The Madison Library is one of dozens of New Hampshire libraries taking part in the NH Center for the Book’s “Big Read: NH Reads Edgar Allan Poe” program this October, and this is the featured event for Madison. All are welcome to come take part, as a reader, or a listener, or both.
The Story Slam will be a fun, somewhat competitive event, which will be organized much like the more common Poetry Slam. Storyteller Andy Davis (see photo), a member of the Mountain Storytellers Guild, will start the evening off with a 5-minute reading of one of his favorite Poe stories. After that, audience members are invited to read aloud 5-minute selections of their favorite Poe stories or poems. Three judges will be chosen from the audience, and each reader will get a 1-10 rating. At the end, average scores will be compared to determine the winner, who will receive a fun prize. Andy Davis will wrap up the evening with a performance of a story he created that was inspired by Poe.
Books with Poe’s stories and poems can be borrowed from the Madison Library ahead of time. At the event, the Chick Room will be decorated and lit for scary stories, and cider will be offered as refreshment. Because of the nature of Poe’s work, this event is recommended for adults, teens, and children age 10 and older. Readers and listeners are welcome and encouraged to attend in Poe-inspired costume.
The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. It is coordinated in New Hampshire by the Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library.