By Claudia Taller
The Cuyahoga County Public Library is passionate about bringing readers and writers together. The William N. Skirball Writers Center Stage program has been the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation’s signature fundraising event for the past five years.
Writer’s Center Stage series gives readers a chance to meet the authors whose work they love. An evening at one of these events at PlayhouseSquare can be mesmerizing, even if you go alone. But don’t go alone — take someone who loves the writer as much as you do.
Writing connects the reader and the writer in a symbiotic exchange that cannot be mimicked in a live presentation, but it definitely enhances the relationship between the writer and the reader. As a writer, imagine appearing on stage to tell your audience how you write, why you write, and what’s closest to your heart, knowing that the audience adores you. As a reader, imagine seeing a favorite writer whose words amaze you by how well they take you somewhere else or deep within stand before you, uncloaked and open to scrutiny, a real person on the stage. This is what Writer’s Center Stage is all about, and it’s amazing how many people show up at PlayhouseSquare on a weekday evening to experience an otherworldly bond.
Next up in the series is Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner Tracy Kidder, author of The Soul of a New Machine and Strength in What Remains, who’ll present on Tue 10/9 at 7:30pm.
One of the past writers to brighten the stage of the Ohio Theater was Anne Lamott, a writer’s writer, on April 17. Anne Lamott is a hero to many writers, and I was surrounded by other writers. Anne knew her audience — her presentation was a writerly one about shitty first drafts, just putting your butt in the chair, carrying a notebook and pen in her back pocket, being in a character’s head, and how it felt to collaborate with her son on a book about her grandson some twenty years after she wrote Operating Instructions about raising her son. Afterwards, she signed books, and I bought one for the occasion (from one of our favorite book stores, Mac’s Backs) while wishing I’d brought my copy of Bird by Bird.
If there were readers in the audience, they may have been disappointed she didn’t go into detail on title choices or story lines. But think about it — if you are a writer, what a compliment it is that other writers choose to read not only your book about writing, but your fiction as well. They would scrutinize it for faults and dissect it as an example, so the writing has to be very good. Anne is committed to her craft.
Writer’s Center Stage reconnects people with reading, one of the Cuyahoga County Library Foundation’s major outreach directives. The Foundation is also committed to helping children be ready to enter school, empowering youth, developing the County’s workforce, providing seniors with learning programs, and connecting with new Americans. Writer’s Center Stage is just one of its many efforts.
At the end of the Spring season for Writer’s Center Stage, Cuyahoga County Public Library Executive Director Sari Feldman announced next year’s collection of experiences. Some of our favorite writers will hit the stage in the 2012-13 season: Emma Donaghue, Tracy Kidder, Geraldine Brooks & Tony Horwitz, Ann Patchett, Rita Dove, and Erik Larson. It’s a testimony to how well writers are receiving these events that such phenomenal writers are going to be in Cleveland this coming year. These are world-class writers who have something to say to many people.
Get your tickets to Writers Center Stage at http://PlayhouseSquare.org or call 216.664.6051. Single tickets or bundles of tickets are available, starting at $30/show.
Claudia Taller is the author of Ohio’s Lake Erie Wineries and has been a Cool Cleveland contributor for many years. She helps writers and other creative people discover possibilities for their lives through Igniting Possibilities events, including Word Lovers retreats. She has written articles for numerous publications over the last decade and blogs at http://ClaudiaTallerMusings.blogspot.com. Her book can be purchased at http://OhioLakeErieWineries.blogspot.com and makes a perfect gift for history buffs and wine lovers.Cleveland, OH 44115