Giving Voice to Your Prose By Jennifer Simpson When most people think of spoken word performance they think of poetry, of poetry slams and open mics. But there are opportunities for prose writers as well. Heck, sometimes I even sneak into a poetry open mic and read short prose. Sometimes you can’t tell the difference-- unless you see the line breaks. You tell me, is this poetry or prose*: I close my eyes and will my heart to follow the rhythm of drums. Instead my breath reaches deep and the saxophone blows night air, touching the moon high above the ponderosa pines. I am bare feet, a purple mountain lily, batik skirt swirling in the afternoon sun. Thick dollops of rain drop thump and we continue to dance until we are sliding on the meadow grass wet with mud. I count white butterflies one, two while a man stands naked-- warrior pose, his gaze distant and strong. Behind the circle of teepees a healer sweeps away demons with his bundle brush of sage whispering truths you may or may not be ready to hear. He gave me blue corn. Whether you’re sneaking into a poetry open mic clutching your short story, or attending an open mic for prose, the first step is to select the right piece to read. It should be a story. It can be fiction or non-fiction, but it should have a beginning, a middle and an end. It should be short. I advocate three to five minutes, which would be between 500 and 750 words. I believe it’s better to leave your audience wanting more. As Flannery O’Connor said, “Being short does not mean being slight. A short story should be long in depth and should give us an experience of meaning.” Bernard Cooper said that the short form has “an alertness to detail, a quickening of the senses, a focusing of the literary lens, so to speak, until one has magnified some small aspect of what it means to be human.” Edit your prose with a razor. Look at every word. Look twice. Does the word belong? Can you read the selection – without rushing—within five minutes? If not, go back and cut more words. Can you read it without stumbling? Do you know how to pronounce every word? The last thing you want to do is get to a phrase that doesn’t tumble off the tongue naturally. At the event, stand up straight. Seriously, this is important as it will allow you to breathe better utilizing your diaphragm to its fullest potential. And speaking of breathing, don’t forget to breathe. Besides being really embarrassing to pass out from lack of oxygen, if you breathe throughout your piece, you’ll avoid those awkward gasps between paragraphs. Make sure you know the microphone. Watch how the emcee treats the mic. Generally you’ll want to be about 6 to 12 inches away and slightly off to the side, but some microphones require you to be right up front and close. If there is no microphone, make sure you project your voice—this is where standing up straight and breathing will come in handy. Speak slowly, clearly, and vary your tone and rhythm. This will create interest, and allow your audience time to process what you’re saying. Pause. Create a space for your listener to visualize your words. Finally, don’t forget to look up. Your audience wants to see more than the top of your head bent over a piece of paper. Make eye contact and smile. You’re supposed to be having fun!

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* Technically, this prose. I know this because (a) I wrote it and (b) it is an excerpt from a larger piece. I selected it to read as poetry because of its vivid (I hope) imagery and playful word combinations. As it stands it is more of a prose poem than a story; there is no “beginning, middle and end.” AUTHOR’S NOTE: This piece was originally published in the inaugural issue of LP Creative Humans magazine. If you’re in San Diego, Orange County California, New York or Albuquerque, find a DimeStories open mic event-- prose only-- no poetry allowed!