Georgia Magazine - October 2022 - 8

GEORGIA News
Compiled by Jennifer J. Hewett
Georgia-grown The Moth marks
25 years of telling tales
I
n the late 1990s when the internet was in its
infancy and iPhones weren't ubiquitous, poet
George Greene gathered with friends on his
Savannah porch and began swapping stories. In
the tradition of good Southern yarn-spinners, they
regaled one another with entertaining tales.
From those early story sessions grew The Moth,
a nonprofit organization dedicated to the craft of
storytelling. Its evenings of amateur storytelling
have attracted crowds of listeners in cities
throughout the U.S. and world.
This year, as The Moth marks its 25th anniversary,
shows in Atlanta have kept the tradition going.
Host Jon Goode, a poet and writer, oversees the
events, held at the Balzer Theater at Herren's downtown
and 7 Stages Theatre in Little Five Points.
" The stories, the energy in the room-it's hard
to describe, " Goode says. " I try to tell people what
it's like, but then they come to a [storytelling]
session and tell me I undersold it. You have to be there to
understand what happens in the room. "
What does happen is that ordinary people muster their
Amateur storytellers share short tales based on the night's theme at The Moth
StorySLAM events held around the world.
courage to stand in front of a crowd of strangers and tell five- to
six-minute true stories related to a theme: being happy, feeling
powerful, keeping everything in the air, being a rebel. Would-be
raconteurs put their names in a hat, and 10 randomly are
selected to get up on stage. The audience judges the best stories
based on content, engagement and adherence to the time limit.
" Anyone can put their name in the hat, " says Jenifer Hixson,
a senior director at The Moth's New York headquarters. " The
content is always wildly and beautifully different because it's
determined by the people who show up and are picked from
the hat. But being an audience member is [just] as much fun. "
To mark the anniversary, the organization purchased a tiny
house and is taking it on The Moth Pop Up Porch Tour. While it
is in Atlanta Oct. 26-30 at Ponce City Market, fans of " The Moth
Radio Hour " and its podcast can gather around a small porch as
a tribute to the way it all started.
" We made a heat map of where people had told stories or
we'd had shows, and we found [that] Atlanta is a thriving city for
us, " Hixson says. " So we decided to build this little house and
put it on a trailer to spread awareness about what we're doing
and to help more people tell their stories, because stories are a
great way to understand others' perspectives. "
The next live show in Georgia is a StorySLAM set for
Oct. 27 at 7 Stages Theatre, and audience members will share
their stories with the theme of " crossroads " -about turning
points in their lives.
For more information about The Moth, live shows and the
tiny house tour, visit themoth.org.
-H.M. Cauley
Dial '988' for national suicide-prevention hotline
In 2020, someone died by suicide every 11 minutes in the
U.S., and suicide was the second-leading cause of death for
people ages 10 to 34, according to data from the National Vital
Statistics System.
Those needing support while struggling with suicidal
thoughts, substance-abuse crises or mental-health crises now
can call or text " 988 " to reach counselors with the 988 Suicide
and Crisis Lifeline, a national network of more than 200 crisis
centers that help thousands of people each day. The centers
8 Georgia Magazine October 2022
are supported by local and state resources as well as the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
In July, " 988 " replaced the longer (800) 273-8255 hotline,
formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
It provides 24/7, free, confidential help to those in crisis and
those worried about loved ones in distress.
To learn more about " 988 " resources, visit
samhsa.gov/find-help/988.
DENISE OFELIA MANGEN
http://www.themoth.org http://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988
Georgia Magazine - October 2022

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