Everybody has a story. But people need the space, time and encouragement to tell those stories.
That was the inspiration behind Curated, a reading series held at The Bird and the Book, on the first Thursday of each month. Lisa Misosky, co-owner of Southland Books & Cafe and The Bird and the Book, has revived the series that first began before COVID.
As a bookseller, Misosky said, “I’ve heard stories from customers for years, even decades. I think most people just want an opportunity to be ‘heard’ in some fashion.”
Curated provides “an opportunity and venue” for those folks to be heard, she added. Usually, the event features true, non-fiction pieces of 10 minutes or less. Writers submit their pieces in advance and then read them live at the event.
On August 7, Curated will present a special poetry-only reading. The idea to feature poetry arose in the monthly writers’ group that Misosky started at the same time she restarted Curated. Since several of the writers who attend the group are poets, she and Sarah Small, who coordinates the group, decided to focus on poetry.
Adding to Misosky’s motivations for featuring poetry, Small and two other local poets have books either out recently or coming soon. Small’s chapbook, Stitches, will be released by Finishing Line Press in early August.
Sue Weaver Dunlap has a new book, Thursday’s Child, published by Main Street Rag. And K.B. Ballentine’s new book, All the Way Through, has been published by Sheila-Na-Gig Inc. All three poets will be among the readers at the Aug. 7 Curated event.
Small has written poetry for most of her life, she said. “I don’t remember ever not writing poetry,” she recalled. She wrote poems for family birthdays and holidays and gifted poems to friends and romances.
She said that poetry is a special way of looking at language. “I love words and stories and what words can do—the worlds they create, lives they explore, the feelings captured and communicated. Poetry does all that,” she added. “I love playing with language, looking at familiar things in new ways, and zooming in on small, ordinary moments.”
Dunlap agrees: “I love words, sounds, music. I love playing with words and telling a good story.” She was inspired by her mother, who “spoke in the rhythm, cadence of mountain people. I picked up the cadence and it found its way to both my poetry and prose.”
She treasures the times that people approach her to tell her “how a certain poem brought back beautiful memories of home.”
Ballentine appreciates not only “playing with language” but also the challenge of crafting a poem, “trying to use the fewest, best words possible.”
Having public poetry readings is important, Small said, because “Poetry is created to be both heard and read. Hearing poetry read aloud is such a different experience from reading the words on paper/screen.” In her poetry group, made up of the cohort from the inaugural Tremont Writers Conference, Small said that the writers often share an “a-ha moment” when they hear the poems read, even though they have read them on the screen already.
Readings also build community, she added. “At their core, poems are created to build connections and offer insights into shared human experiences. For an audience member to feel seen—to think to themselves, ‘Yes! I get that!’a—that is what poetry is about.”
Ballentine agreed: “It’s important to hear poems aloud just like music/songs are meant to be heard…. It’s also great to hear the actual writer of the poem read that work so the cadence and texture of tone come through.”
Misosky sees Curated, and the monthly writers group, as part of a lifelong dream of building Southland into a “Writers Hub.” While these three writers are published and accomplished poets, that is not a requirement for participation in Curated, she added.
“You don’t have to be a writer to tell your story,” she said. “That’s what makes Curated special.” She herself was the first reader at the first of the series, in November 2024. “I made myself the experiment and example that if I could do then anyone could!” She added, “I am not a writer in any real sense of what makes a writer, but I know a good story when I hear one. And, we all have a good story or two in us!”
Curated takes place at The Bird and the Book on the first Thursday of each month, with submissions due on the preceding Sunday. There is no cover charge to attend the readings, though published writers generally have their books for sale.
The Bird and the Book, 1509 E. Broadway Ave., is a family-friendly venue. They serve a full food menu, including vegan options. The pub has a large drink list, with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Unless a special event is taking place, The Bird and the Book is open from 4:30-10 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays.
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