The 804 household has hosted many an event, but none more sophisticated, gratifying and all-around fulfilling as Words Aloud.

The idea, originally inspired by two gentlemen from North Carolina, Jason Mott and Justin Edge, who put together their own event hosted in Wilmington, was to give aspiring writers an open forum to share their work with a literary appreciative crowd.

Fellow 804 Horseman and former UNC-Wilmington classmate of Mott and Edge, John-Mark Davidson, shared details of the Wilmington event while hanging out among friends in Old Town Alexandria. The first domino was tilted forward by a single question posed by a lovely young missus by the name of Emily Saulsgiver: “Why don’t we do that here?”

And with that, Words Aloud was born.

John-Mark and I hosted the event, as eight total readers took to the podium on March 7, 2009, for the 1st Annual Words Aloud (listed in order of appearance):

• Stuart Smith
• Nicholas Thomas
• Jason Mott
• Thadeous Goodwyn
• Emily Saulsgiver
• Justin Edge
• Timothy Hopkins
• John-Mark Davidson

Each person shared a poem, story, or topics ranging from love, old wisdom, drinking mishaps, vanity via mirrors and trysts. The crowd of 30-35 remained awake from what I could tell, and seemed to receive the original pieces quite well, making the evening even more successful than we could have hoped for.

The event would not have been possible if not for the help from a few people/places:

• Roommate John-Mark for co-hosting.
• Roommate Thad for all his help and his sonnet.
• Roommate Mike for his help and the food.
• Justin Edge and Jason Mott for coming up from Wilmington, and for the idea originally coming from them.
• Emily Saulsgiver for asking the simple question, “Why don’t we do that here?”
• T.J. for providing the microphone and mic stand.
• Jessica “Vila” LaFever and her father for building a wooden podium specifically for the event.
• The lovely crowd of friends, family and just plain folks for coming out and being receptive and appreciative.

Considering the event’s turnout, attendee feedback and the foundation of our place still remaining intact, count on there being a 2nd Words Aloud in the coming months.

Stay tuned to this website, as well as my Facebook and Twitter pages for the exact event date.

So to all participants, both readers and attendees alike, I’d like to personally say thank you kindly for helping to make Words Aloud go above and beyond our expectations!

** Here’s the piece I read [PDF] **