These readings are a good reason to look forward to Mondays; to see
familiar (and new) faces, to hear pieces of poetry or prose by familiar (and
new) voices and to again sit in the cellars of the Napa Bar with a pint of beer
or glass of wine after a long day. In short, it’s a wonderful escape from the
world of responsibilities and duties into the one of Alchemy, where creativity
and imagination are most valued and supported.
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| Image credits: Anna Hupcejova |
It is probably the longer hours of sunshine and fresh breeze that made
the atmosphere of the April Alchemy event so positive. The majority of the
pieces read were optimistic too – poems of hilarious moments spent with friends
describing farts, a few witty verses by Willie Watson (interviewed in the March
2014 MP, ed. note) or uplifting lines in the star-guest Tom Draper’s poems. I
personally enjoyed the accessibility of his work, as he introduced not only the
development of his verse, but also the experiences lying behind it – family
problems, moving from Kent and Prague or simple instants of reflection when somewhere.
Always after a short introduction, a poem was read – and this was very
refreshing, as usually during seminars at university, the messages of literary
works one is expected to decipher without much knowledge to the author’s
biography. In this case, the work and life were heavily linked and was
therefore not too difficult to grasp.
After the perfect introductory performance reading by Draper and a quick
(meaning about 20-minute to exchange words with everyone) break, the open mike
session commenced. That was the time when adrenaline began flowing through my
veins – for I signed up to read. As the status of names on the list neared
mine, I grew increasingly nervous as well as excited; I worried about whether
my short story would be as successful as my last one (“Heartstrings”, included
in the March 2014 MP, ed. note). I honestly could not predict the audience’s
reaction and that scared me.
Then my name was called and I went on stage with the thought “Just do
it” in my mind. Nike, hehe. Focus now! Well, long story short, I was surprised
to not even half-way through “Ducky” look up from the papers at a laughing
audience. This positive reaction occurred repeatedly, I gradually loosened up
and began laughing myself; joy, relief, something like that. Only of course,
the conclusion made the audience go “ah no!” in shock and then they laughed,
shaking their heads – because it was a little cruel.
There is no better feeling than realizing that what
you wrote in a moment of creative spirit made a room filled with people smile
and laugh; and an evening at Alchemy fills one with euphoria and adrenaline to
create something as soon as possible, something worth reading in a month’s time
again in the cellar of Napa to the citizens of the Alchemy Reading Series
group.
Anna Hupcejová
