Today our participants engaged in our second lecture with author David Shields. Shields presented a lecture on the subject of literary collage. Practiced in some of Shields’ books like Reality Hunger: A Manifesto and How Literature Saved My Life, literary collage is a method of writing where one writes fragments of text that seem unrelated, but carry similar themes and show the thought process of the writer.

Shields also read pieces by authors Marie Suter and Dinty Moore to show examples of how literary collage can be done and the many different ways an author can create collage.

The lecture also included a short writing portion. The participants were encouraged to take some time to try and write their own collage. It could be in any genre or format, and it could be about anything. While some of the writers found it difficult at first, everyone still managed to produce a unique and interesting example of literary collage.

That evening, some of our participants and staff members made their way to Au Chat Noir for Spoken Word Paris.

The event was an open mic held in the bar’s underground space. The crowd, mostly consisting of American ex-pats, performed a variety of performance pieces, from poetry reading to stand-up comedy to singing.

Special guests Zarina Zabrisky and Simon Rogghe each performed a piece with musical accompaniment, while performer Fat Mandy read a poem about Black Lives Matter before singing the American National Anthem with her fist in her mouth.

Some of our members also performed their work. CWW Director Diana Norma Szokolyai read three of her poems, one of which she read the Hungarian version of while CWW Yoga Instructor Elissa Lewis read the English translation.

CWW Intern Alex Carrigan also read a poem of his titled “All My Love to the Monster Currently Devouring Me,” much to the amusement of the audience.

The reading was a good chance for our participants and staff to meet other artists and to share their work with others.

CWW Staff Members and Friends at Au Chat Noir before the event (Left to right: Elissa Lewis, Rita Banerjee, Antonia Klimenko, Simon Rogghe, Zarina Zabrisky, and Diana Norma Szokolyai)

CWW Staff following a fun night at Spoken Word. (From Left to Right: Alex Carrigan, Rita Banerjee, Victor Pachas, Elissa Lewis, and Diana Norma Szokolyai)