A mere ten years ago I stood with each foot planted on two separate tectonic plates: the North American and the Eurasian. The plates move apart at approximately 2.5 centimeters a year at this location in Iceland in the North Atlantic. I came to a place the Icelanders call Thingvellir to see for myself where the early Norse/Irish settlers convened yearly to conduct business and party. The meetings took place annually for over 300 years beginning around 930 CE. One of the rituals of this event was the reading of the law code: to be law-giver was but one example of a culture that prized verbal memory. Law-givers were expected to recite 1/3 of the legal code for each of their three years of service. They gave their recital to the lee side of the Almannagjá fault on which I stood, on what they called the Law Rock. From this central gathering point the land slopes away to the south to a glacial lake. It wasn't hard to imagine clans from the corners of the island setting up camps around the lake, bartering, fishing, feasting, plotting, socializing. And telling stories.
Like the Homerian and other ancient oral traditions, the Icelanders tumbled their stories out for hundreds of years before someone thought to write them down as The Sagas. It's an enticing guess as to precisely how they evolved over those non-written years but when they were finally written the sagas remained as cherished and have been retold, reread, and dramatized in plays and films countless times. Here is a picture of some of those ancient manuscripts (probably 12th century CE) in somewhat humble staging which doesn't quite convey how much they are cared for by modern Icelanders in their museums.
In addition to memorization skills, the ability to compose verse spontaneously was especially prized. One could advance quickly in social standing through fast-thinking and clever verse. The sagas themselves tell of these exploits and the rewards heaped on those more successful practitioners. Think of going before the US Senate and rapping out responses to your challengers. This culture of verbal artistry predated the written sagas by many, many years.
This brings us to the inclusion of open mic poetry slams, song lyricists and dramatic presentations at the Southwest Festival of the Written Word. For the most part we celebrate written poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, but their siblings of song and drama and spontaneous verse are alive and well in this region and we're keen not to neglect them.
On October 4 from 3:30–4:30 we will feature the Silver City Community Theater in a production of Marjorie Prime. The venue for this performance hasn't been set yet but our schedule will be updated with the venue in early summer.
On October 5 we will have an open mic/poetry and flash fiction session, probably at "A" Space from 4:30–5:30.
And Silver City being an exceptionally musical town, we've asked some of the many songwriters of the area to come in and talk about their craft. We will once again offer a song-writing session for lyric lovers featuring at least three of the area's songwriters. Look for this on October 6, 11:30–12:30, probably at the Old Elks Lodge.
So, there you have it. The roots of writing alive and well in Silver City!
Swords and dried fish are optional.