Imagined Therefore Limitless #6 - Ghost Stories

ITL would like to extended its warmest fireside thanks to everyone who came out to Belmont for a spooktacular night, listeners and readers alike. No thanks can properly express my gratitude to Jason, for co-hosting and support.


Aaron Devine - "The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats and "The Hairy Toe"
Amy Stepsis - "The Hampshire Street Horror" from Ghosts of Boston Town by Holly Nadler
Dann Brown - excerpt from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving
heather hughes - "Dybbuk Jewish Wine Cabinet" auction item from eBay, 2004, and "The Velvet Ribbon" by Ann McGovern
Tom Stepsis - "The Dead Hand" and "Such Things Happen" from Scary Stories 3 by Alvin Scwartz and Stephen Gammell
Ronny Preciado - William S. Burroughs reading "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allen Poe
Jack Miller - The Hallo-weiner by Dav Pilkey

ITL #6 - Ghost Stories

One of the inspirations behind ITL was my love of spookiness. Fortunately, Imagined Therefore Limitless knows someone with the perfect place for an evening of haunting tales and flickering firelight. Maybe we'll play "Light as a feather, stiff as a board" or "Bloody Mary" before the night is out...

Imagined Therefore Limitless Readers' Series
Ghost Stories
Friday, October 23, 2009
8:00pm


Please RSVP in the comments, on facebook, or at imaginedlimitless@gmail.com. Location information will be provided only to those who RSVP. Festive snacks to share are most welcome -- ITL will provide hot cider and firewood.

Thanks are not enough for the ever-supportive host of ITL #6. Jason, I appreciate your generosity in ways I cannot adequately express.

ITL #5 - Nature Writing Picnic

This fantastical annual picnic adventure included:

Dann Brown - a selection from Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
heather hughes - "The 59th Bear" by Ted Hughes and "Beach Whispers" by John Hollander
Jack Miller - chapter on the Kakapos of New Zealand from Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams


There's nothing quite like reading outside!

ITL #5 - Nature Writing

Celebrate the annual ITL picnic! This year's theme: nature writing.

Imagined Therefore Limitless Readers' Series
Nature Writing Picnic
Saturday, July 18, 2009
4:30pm
The Esplanade
on the Boston side, to the east of the Mass Ave Bridge,
near the small island

Please RSVP in the comments, on facebook, or at imaginedlimitless@gmail.com so we know if you're missing. Bring something to share at the picnic!

ITL #5

The topic will be nature writing. We'll picnic on the Esplanade, just to the east of the Mass Ave Bridge on the Boston side. A poll will be open through Sunday evening, June 23rd, to vote for the date and time. A note will go out next week after the poll closes. Please feel free to comment below with any thoughts regarding the next readers' event.

May 31, 5:30pm - Brendan sends his MLK project out into the world!

You may recall, or be sad that you missed, Brendan's amazing performance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. It's a project that has been well over a year in the works, and its debut outing occurred as part of ITL #3 - Oratory. Since my bedroom is close to his, I can testify that a lot of work has gone into the project in the past six months.

Get out next weekend to see this! Brendan will blow your mind.


The Music of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Sunday, May 31st, Brendan Burns will present an honors class on the profound underlying musicality of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches.

Just like a master musician, King used melodic, rhythmic, and dynamic tension to emphasize and captivate his audiences. Brendan will showcase King's "I Have A Dream" speech - where he speaks tonally, with influence from western harmony, blues, and gospel music.

The presentation will include a transcription of "I Have A Dream" in musical notation, a performance of the entire speech on fretless guitar, and analysis of the speech's key points. There will also time for Q&A.

Open to the Public
Brookline Music School
Studio A (2nd Floor)
25 Kennard Road
Brookline MA 02245
Sunday, May 31st 5:30pm

Imagined Therefore Limitless #4 - Humor

Thank you again to everyone who played along with the reshuffled schedule and was able to attend ITL #4. Apologies to those who could not make the new date. You were missed. In case you're wondering who read what, here's a rundown:

Vessela Stoyanova -
Anya Miller - "Lyin' Larry" and "No Thank You" by Shel Silverstein, from Falling Up
Gonzalo Plaza - selections from The Real Frank Zappa Book by Frank Zappa and Peter Occhiogrosso
Dann Brown - "Unfortunately, It's the Only Game in Town," "No Wonder Our Fathers Died," and "First Payment Deferred" by Ogden Nash
Susanna Lamey - excerpts from "Lonesome Shorty" and "The Midlife Crisis of Dionysus" by Garrison Keillor, from The Book of Guys
Jed Barnum - "A Brief Time Line of the Lobster in America" and "Diversions for the Asthmatic Child Who Cannot Play in the Snow" by John Hodgman, from The Areas of My Expertise and "Nuit of the Living Dead" by David Sedaris, from Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
heather hughes - excerpt from "In New England Everyone Calls You Dave" by David Rakoff, from Fraud
Jack Miller and Katie Hamill - "Here We Are" by Dorothy Parker and excerpt from Act I, Scene 1 "Baby with the Bathwater" by Christopher Durang (with Anya Miller)


Special thanks to Jack for video and Brendan for audio. ITL couldn't do it without you.

Imagined Therefore Limitless #4 - Humor

The results are in! A sweeping victory goes to the humor writing category. What do we mean by humor writing? Funny, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Take it and run with it. This event will mark ITL's birthday. Thanks to all who have helped make wonderful happen!


Imagined Therefore Limitless Readers' Series
Humor Writing
Sunday, March 29, 2009
4pm


Space is limited, RSVP is required. Light refreshments provided, bring something if you want to. If you are unable to attend, but want to participate, comment to the blog or email imaginedlimitless@gmail.com and we'll work something out.

Looking forward to listening and laughing with you!

The standard ITL disclaimers: 1. Reading is not necessary, although it is encouraged 2. This event will be recorded.

excerpt from Toni Morrison's Nobel Prize lecture

Thrill to a short clip of Gina Heeren reading a Toni Morrison speech at Imagined Therefore Limitless #3:

Judge Noah "Soggy" Sweat's "Whiskey Speech," 1952

More for your listening pleasure! Also live from ITL #3.



Jack Miller shares with us the wonder that is "The Whiskey Speech."

Senator Eugene McCarthy's speech at the 1960 DNC

Our first live recording! Aaron Devine shared this at Imagined Therefore Limitless #3 - Oratory.

An excerpt from Aaron's introduction: "Eugene McCarthy was a senator from Minnesota and a poet, and he gave this speech at the 1960 Democratic Convention... One of the reasons that I chose it is that, if you listen to it, it sounds really relevant to today and today's time. And a couple of the earlier speeches that we heard - it's the same thing.

I think that speaks to how the ideas are there. The ideas have been there fomenting and simmering in our consciousness nationally for a long time and change really lags behind. But the thinkers are there. So I'm very hopeful and excited about this new President we have tomorrow, and how he's going to carry the ideas of Martin Luther King, who we celebrate today, forward to another step after one generation has passed. But I also recognize that the change that he's bringing is going to take a very long time. But I'm hopeful that the ideas are being voiced now. It seems important to me to voice these ideas. "

ITL #4 Announcement

Greetings! Keep an eye out in the next few days for audio & video posts from ITL #3 (yes, finally). Eventually this process will get faster, as I master the technology at my disposal. Special thanks to Brendan and Jack for technical assistance.

Now, onto the real excitement of this post: Imagined Therefore Limitless #4!
The date is finalized, although the topic is not. Mark your calendars for Sunday, March 22nd beginning at 4pm.

But, but, but, what are we reading?
Aaahhhhh, we'll decide together. If you have a topic that you'd like to nominate, comment. Next week, a poll will go up here. So come back, listen to some great oratory, and vote for the genre of ITL #4. Hasta luego!

Oratory - what we heard

Many thanks to all who came out for Oratory night. Is there a better way to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. than to gather to share and discuss great thoughts? I suspect not.

A round-up of readings:

Dann Brown - Lyman Trumball "Speech at a Populist Meeting" & William Jennings Bryan "Speech Concluding Debate on the Chicago Platform," July 9, 1896
Jed Barnum - Harvey Milk speech on being elected to the San Francisco board of supervisors, 1977
Gina Heeren - Toni Morrison's 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature lecture
Aaron Devine - Senator Eugene McCarthy (D, MN) "These times, people say, are out of joint" speech nominating Adlai Stevenson for President at the DNC in 1960
heather hughes - Winston Churchill's "Give us the tools" speech 9 Feb 1941 & "This is your victory" speech 8 May 1945
Susannah Lamey - Wislawa Szymborska's 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature lecture
Valerie Thompson - selected by Amy Stepsis - Steve Job's Stanford University commencement address in 2005
Jack Miller - Judge Noah "Soggy" Sweat, "The Whiskey Speech," 1952
Brendan Burns - Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech/guitar accompaniment, August 28, 1963


Special thanks to Vessela for recording assistance. More awesome to come!

Old news is good news...

Damian Barr is a man who appreciates reading aloud. This news article is almost a year old, but worth the three minutes it takes to read:

ABC News: At London hotel, room service brings bedtime stories

Thoughts: The suggestion that reading to someone in a hotel room could make Barr a "literary callboy" is strange. Is he that worried? Does this seem that dangerous to him? And why not capitalize on the idea of being a "literary callboy?" The implication that this is somehow sleazy seems entirely off-base.

How do we get cute men with British accents in their pajamas to read bedtime stories in U.S. hotels?

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"The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb"

Shall we recall the joys of readers' series gone by? We shall.

For your listening pleasure, Imagined Therefore Limitless presents A. Nora Long reading "The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb", from Shockheaded Peter.

Special thanks to Brendan for making auditory magic happen at all hours of the night and to Jack for advice.

ITL #3 - Oratory Reading Event

Ring in the new year and the new President whilst celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with the first Imagined Therefore Limitless of 2009!!! After a hiatus, the reading series is back and the timing is serendipitous. This evening will be devoted entirely to oratory. Dig out a speech you cherish, investigate a political or pop culture figure, and share some words of wisdom!

Imagined Therefore Limitless Readers' Series
Oratory
Monday, January 19, 2009
5pm

Because this project is still embryonic, it is not yet feasible to hold the reading event in a public space. Please email for location details if needed. RSVPs are required, space is limited. ITL will provide minimal snacks and beverages, please feel free to contribute something as well if you are able.

What qualifies as oratory? Well, lots of things. For our purposes, speeches given by historical or living persons are ideal. Sorry, theatre junkies, leave your monologues at home for now.

The theme was inspired by a desire to research Winston Churchill (and, yes, I will be reading one of his speeches) and by ITL's resident sound guru, Brendan, who has an incredible Martin Luther King, Jr. presentation to share. Whatever you do DO NOT bring something you, or someone you know even, has written. Feel free to address any questions or concerns in comments to this post or email imaginedlimitless@gmail.com or post on the ITL facebook wall.

Which brings us to an important point: the goal is for the reading series to be something that is open and accessible to a community. And to be something that helps create community. Don't just sit there, take part!

The ITL blog, facebook page, and goodreads group are the first teeny steps in this direction. But hopefully you will all help them to be significant. Share your thoughts about the pieces you're considering, what you choose to read, the work you hear, or the reading series as a concept. Write comments! Constructive criticism and suggestions for future events are also welcome. Access to a free or nearly-free public space, preferably in Cambridge, is at the top of the wishlist right now, so if you have any suggestions or tips, pass that info along.

Two important ITL notes. You are not required to read, although it is encouraged. We are friends getting together to hang out and read to each other; the idea is not to have anyone feel put on the spot. It's a good idea to bring something to read, in case you feel inspired. Secondly, this event will be recorded. If you particularly do not want to be posted for posterity to the blog, please let me know. Otherwise, it is assumed you consent to the use of any photographs, audio, or video that comes out of the reading series that might include you.

Psst... look over there...

And click over there. To your right, in a lovely little box labeled "Connect with ITL," are some links to other Imagined Therefore Limitless resources. Become a fan on the Facebook page, share books on the GoodReads group, and add the public Google calendar to yours. Come back here next week for web goodies and event info. Hooray!