Event Recap: Portland Fiction Project at The Maiden

This article is by contributor Spencer Cushing.  You can see what Spencer is up to over on Twitter.

Having never been to The Maiden, I was pleasantly surprised by the décor and location of the small corner bar. For some reason I had a much larger place in mind, but what I found was perfect for a reading of excellent fiction, by the one and only Portland Fiction Project. Melissa Favara has been doing the 1000 Words Reading Series since 2007 and you can tell the following is strong, accepting and a fine smiling group of people. After taking in the nets, crates, and vast expanses of empty ocean art on the walls, the crew met up and got down to business, finalizing details in terms of order and drowning the wee bits of nervousness with a stiff drink.

Favara introduced all the players and a small band called We Play Quietly that consisted of a “Strum Stick” or as Melissa F. explained it, “a dulcimer on a stick,” and a companion instrument that needs only one word: Saw. Yep a bow and a dull saw. They took the stage (i.e. the corner of the bar) and moved quickly through their pieces, featuring more readers than they normally have with the PFP crew.

The first group of pieces that fell under the overarching Theme of “Lies” were prompted by “I’m still here two days later.” The second grouping was prompted by, “A thousand people just like me.” The third came from, “You will be no friend of mine,” and the final grouping played their tunes to, “I’ve lost you.” All song lyrics if I’m not mistaken. Can you tell me where their from?

Anyway, the PFP crew was outstanding as ever. Several of them even connected their stories via theme or storyline. Douglas Dean, the head of PFP, read his stories as four different characters within the same story, all dealing with a rumor/lie surrounding a particular person. Kate Nordbye shined with her almost magical realism pieces and Jacob Aiello entertained the crowd with his pieces that detailed the fiction/lies/truths around a singularly pants-less writer. I could detail everyone’s readings, but you’ll just have to hit the next PFP reading for the goods.

It was a good showing for the PFP, who are working on another Reading for the not too distant future and are hoping to take part in Wordstock’s Red Chair Reading series that happens each year before Wordstock.

A fine evening, and I made off with some cool PFP swag. A wicked-awesome bumper sticker.