Written by Sarah J Kyle
Harding students and community members gathered Monday for a night of laughter, tears and good old-fashioned storytelling from noted peers and professors.
The event, Anthology, was hosted by the Underground, a local coffee shop, and brought about by Harding senior Nick Michael and Harding graduate Zac Crow.
Michael said he and Crow got inspiration for the event after listening a podcast called “The Moth,” which replicates live storytelling events in New York City.
“The premise is people come out to hear stories told live on stage without notes,” Michael said. “It’s a really raw experience with incredibly talented speakers who have experienced incredibly bizarre or poignant or hilarious circumstances.”
Michael and Crow began to plan the event for the Searcy community, giving it the name “Anthology,” which signifies a collection of stories surrounding a particular theme.
“The only difference between our Anthology and a typical paper-based one is the proximity of the storyteller to the audience,” Michael said. “There were no books between the two at Monday night’s event.”
Michael said he believed that Anthology allowed the Harding students to step away from social media and connect on a deeper level with each other.
“I wanted to make some time and space for real stories with real plotlines from real people,” Michael said. “The fact that Anthology was so well-received proves that people are looking for these types of connections. It’s personal. It’s communal. It’s universal. Everybody loves a good story.”
Crow and Michael got together and began to brainstorm a list of members of the Harding community that were known for their ability to tell stories. The pair sent out speaking invitations to 13, six of which agreed to speak at the event.
Harding professor Dr. Mark Elrod shared his experiences as a Navy aviator during the Cold War in a story he entitled “The Day I Came Face to Face With Death Over the Skies of Keflavik, Iceland on March 13, 1978: A True Story of Cold War Naval Aviation Featuring VP-16 Commander-in-Chief A.W. Renfield, ME and AW3 ‘Wild Bill’ Overman.”
Junior Amber Roe told a heartwarming tale about the love of siblings and family entitled “The Duck, and the Grandpa and the Feathers,” in which she shared the story of the day she realized that her brothers truly loved her.
Dr. Nick Boone talked about the wisdom and follies of love in his tale “Kierkegaard, Irony, a Love Letter, and a Bad Poem about Marriage.”
Professor Jimmy Shaw shared a heart-wrenching autobiography about the way life has changed since his childhood. His story, “Plastic Benjamin and the Burning of Everything,” included the burning of his elementary school.
Senior Jenni Kay Long disclosed her frustration with people’s reactions when they found out about the passing of her mother and the release she felt during her time in Zambia, where she was simply told to “be free” instead of asked how she was. Her tale was called “Hiding.”
Dr. Jack Shock concluded the evening of storytelling with an amusing anecdote about the University of Tennessee’s homecoming, football game and his crush on baton-twirler alumn “Miss 1977.”
Overall, students voiced approval for the event and said they hoped to see similar events in the future.
“There is quite possibly no better way to share the human experience than through the all too often neglected art of storytelling,” senior Jon Maxwell said. “[It] was very uplifting.”
Michael said that he and Crow originally planned to do another event in April, but due to the success of Monday night, they may host another event as soon as late March.
