Whazzat? Well, it seems that an author and poet from south Georgia named
George Dawes Green
George Dawes Green started a revival of storytelling. Actually, as he relates in this New York Times article, his concept is a little different. He points out that storytellers of old were basically reading prepared material, whereas members of Moth groups create the story on the fly, so to speak.
How did the name come to be? Green and a friend of his were sitting on her screened porch, drinking Jack Daniels and telling stories, and the moths kept coming in and out of the holes in the screen. If you’ve ever been to south Georgia, you’ll know how important bug protection really is.
At any rate, there are permanent Moth venues in New York and L.A. and last night I went to the debut meeting of a chapter that is trying to form in Atlanta.
The folks putting in on were very excited about the turnout, far exceeding their expectations. At least two local authors were there – Hollis Gillespie and Walter Reeves. Walter and I have been acquainted for years and sat together at a table.
Space was at a premium and we were joined by a young lady who is a writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution. She took notes as each performer took the mike. We talked about her upcoming wedding, which will take place in her hometown of Detroit. It will be a street wedding, in an artistic district I wasn’t familiar with (which sent me to the web researching Detroit – wow, they have a lot of neighborhoods there! It’s a celebration of ethnicity).
Back to the subject. Mr. Colley, the moderator, passed a hat to collect brief bits of info from volunteers. There was an air of expectation and a wide range of ages represented in the room.
I forgot to mention that the first meeting was held at Manuel’s Tavern, a fitting setting, since writers have long gathered there.
The topic was to be around DENIAL. An interesting word. Six people spoke. The presentations varied, from esoteric, to thinly disguided religious views, to soul searching to downright irreverent. The final speaker, a young woman in her early twenties, made the best presentation and the one I remember most. She posited that we are all living in denial of some truth at all times, but then truth is changing constantly, so, is that really the case? How can you deny quicksilver? It left us wondering. Of course, that is only what I heard. Others would probably give a completely different synopsis of her words, but then that is THEIR truth.
What does this have to do with my path of self reinvention? A lot! I am committed to exploring new things, especially when they have to do with meeting new people and exploring creativity of any kind, to include storytelling.
Will I go the next meeting? Yep, I think so.
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Thank you for the wonderful write up. We love that you enjoyed the event and hope that you will join us next month. Perhaps even with a story or two?