If you haven’t been to a West Chester’s “Story Slam,” you might assume that it’s rife with the kind get-down-and-dirty, bare-all happenings found in many small-time comedy clubs – a kind of mud wrestling for the literary set.
Tonight’s Story Slam, which is the final one before the best of the lot compete for the “Grand Slam” in November, is likely to have one shocking story among the evening’s line-up. That goes with the territory. Still, the point of Story Slam is not necessarily standing before an audience and baring one’s soul. It’s the act of creating, often on the spot, a cohesive narrative that the audience may (or may not) deem great story-telling.
In simpler terms, it is a story that not only sticks with the night’s theme, it flows as seemingly smooth as the night’s libations, from A to C, but with a definite beginning, middle and end. At least, that’s the way Jim Breslin, the Story Slam’s founder and emcee, sees it.
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A man with many tag lines, Breslin left corporate life in 2007 to focus on writing, short film production and documentaries. (A disclaimer: I was one of the “talking heads” in Breslin’s short film about a mysterious West Chester “yarn bomber” named Insomiknitac.)
Breslin’s first collection of stories, Elephant, reflects his attitude that writing can take many forms – it’s comprised of short stories, flash fiction and prose poems. He writes every day, though to paraphrase James Thurber, he is often writing, even when he’s not writing. He came up with the literary premise for his title story “Elephant,” for instance, when he was jogging.
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Breslin grew up in Media and has lived with his wife and two sons in West Chester for the past 14 years. Along the way, he became a kind of resident writer of the borough in part because he has a gift for bringing people (e.g. isolated writers) together for book signings and readings.
Recently, Breslin and several other members of the Brandywine Writers Group were part of a book “launch” at the Baldwin’s Book Barn. More than a hundred people turned out to celebrate a new short story anthology featuring the work of 13 writers. It was perhaps the first time so many writers were together in one room, signing copies of a single book, Chester County Fiction.
Breslin is not a promoter so much as a story-teller who puts a positive spin on everything. In an interview over lunch at “Roots Cafe” on Gay Street the conversation ranged from the challenge of the Story Slam and selling stories through Kindle, to his thoughts behind basing Elephant on what he calls “soul of suburbia” rather than, say, corporate life.
Before turning to writing full-time, Breslin worked at QVC, the TV shopping network, where he apparently saw a lot of salesmanship and learned to hold an audience. He worked as a managing producer there and later director of live production. He also worked as a news producer, focusing on such serious topics as the Reagan/Gorbachev Summit and the 1988 Republican Convention.
I have never heard any of Breslin stories about his work life there, but an occasional reminder pops up when Breslin, an avid Facebook user, posts a new profile picture showing him smiling with a former QVC guest such Richard Simmons.
Today, it is the little jolts of inspiration, the “little sparks,” which are as simple as seeing a neighbor’s dog in his yard (that resulted in the story, “We’re Not Dog People”) and then seeing it take shape in a story. Even the title story “Elephant” might have remained in the proverbial desk drawer, if he hadn’t received a “positive reaction” at readings and a writers’ retreat, Breslin said.
Let that inspire you to attend tonight’s Story Slam. You never know, your verbal narrative could be the germ of a future published story.
The West Chester Story Slam
• Where: . 124 W. Gay St. West Chester, PA 19380
• Date: Tonight, October 11, 2011
• Time: Begins at 8 p.m. Come early for the best seats.
Features: Open to all people – both spectators and story-tellers. All stories have a time limit and must follow this month’s theme: celebrity sightings. As the web site describes it, “come on out and tell your story about a brush with greatness.” Tonight’s Slam is also the last chance to see who will go onto the final November Grand Slam.
Website: http://wcstoryslam.com/
Phone: 610-344-3934
• Price: Free
