Literary Society’s ‘Speak Easy’: poems, prose and pints

Rory Codd discusses the delights at Wednesday night’s LitSoc Speak Easy event

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“There was a large number of us crammed cosily into the intimate setting of the upstairs event room, and there were many attendants who had the courage to stand up and speak.”

This week I had the pleasure of attending Lit Soc’s ‘Speak Easy’ night at Chaplin’s bar. This was in essence an open mic night, where students were invited to stand up and read out either their own writing or a piece of their choice, irrespective of genre.  

There was a large number of us crammed cosily into the intimate setting of the upstairs event room, and there were many attendants who had the courage to stand up and speak. The night was extended by sporadic intermissions, where we were given the chance to chat to each other about what we’d just heard, or simply head down to the bar for another drink. During this time, our wonderful host for the night, Leo Connell, roused us all with his boisterous call and response shouts and his endearing musings. 

I myself decided not to read out, but instead to indulge myself in the literary talent of others. This proved to be a good decision, as there were several stand-out performances over the course of the night. 

Trinity’s newest young poet, the ‘real’ Chris Joyce, took on an extract of Mary Rowlandson’s ‘Narrative of the Capitivity‘. Clad in a Puritan-esque shawl, his fighting realism and witty side notes resulted in a memorable and hilarious experience. 

Some attendants had written original poems dealing with current issues in society. Jacob Woolf read out a poem he had written called ‘The Post-Cool Hipster of 2020denouncing the intense emphasis on ‘trendiness’ in today’s pop culture, which is slowly taking over the lives of many millennials.

On a similar note,Michelle Nicolaou presented us with a poem she had penned entitled ‘Testimonies of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl‘, which dealt with the unrealistic expectations of females in the media and the harmful influence this is having on young women. 

We also got to hear a riveting short story from Lucy Allan, which focused on a tense (and inescapably relatable) conversation between a girl and a TV repairman following a mysterious crime that she seems reluctant to discuss. The narrative was starkly realistic and gripping, and it succeeded greatly in fixating our attention. 

All of this is just a taster of what we got to hear and enjoy at the Speak Easy.  It was an incredibly welcoming and encouraging night, and having seen how positive everyone was towards each other, perhaps even I could be persuaded to stand up and share my work next time.