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apples, apples, apples – preparing for public readings

apples

I associate fall with picking apples and enjoying all those apple-related treats – apple cider, apple squares, apple jelly and, of course, the apples themselves.

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As part of my celebrating of fall and apple picking, I will be giving four public readings of my book over the next couple of weeks. Since my book ‘within easy reach’ is about eating local foods, my readings will focus on my memories of the apple harvest and trips to local orchards.

The readings are:

Oct. 15, 2016 (Saturday) Sussex Regional Library 2:00 PM (also reading will be Beth Powning, Gerard Collins and Janie Simpson)

Oct. 16, 2016 (Sunday) Odd Sundays at Corked, Fredericton 2:00 PM (also reading will be Harris Sullivan and participants in the Open Mike Session)

Oct. 22, 2016 (Saturday) Rusagonis Women’s Institute 2:00 PM (their theme this year is Pulse Foods, so I will be including a poem about sprouts!)

Oct. 26, 2016 (Wednesday evening) Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Nasonworth 7:00 PM (this is the first event in a series called Authors Coffee Hour)

My preparations for these readings involve a bit of time:

I make a selection of the poems I will read. For the first two readings, I’ll select poems about apple picking – this is the time when New Brunswickers visit local orchards to get the best fall apples! I mark my book with post-it tabs so I can find each passage easily.
I make a few notes about how I want to preface each poem. I put the notes on other post-it tabs right on the page. Some poets don’t like to preface their reading – I like to say something about each poem since I like to prepare the listener.
I practice my readings aloud, including my preface comments. Practicing helps me time the presentation and work out phrasing and emphasis.
I do some promotion for each of the readings – posting on my blog, on Facebook and Twitter. For the Authors Coffee Hour I also have a poster to put in a couple of local places.

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I love to read in public. Sometimes I worry a bit about audience response and the possibility I may stumble on delivery. But, if I am well prepared, I can relax, take three deep breaths and enjoy reading my words aloud.