Have you ever felt like a hot mess? Like everything you were trying to do was not only failing, but failing in such a bizarre fashion that it was oddly both embarrassing and hysterical? If you look up “hot mess” on Google, the definition provided is, “a person or thing that is spectacularly unsuccessful or disordered, especially one that is a source of peculiar fascination.” If you’ve ever been able to relate to that, we want to hear you story!
The Hill News and North Country Public Radio are teaming up to bring The Howl Short Story Slam to St. Lawrence University. The Howl is NCPR’s regional short story competition, where people from all across the North Country share their best personal stories. Every season, speakers are given a new prompt, and this season, the prompt is “hot mess.”
SLU’s Howl event will be next Friday, September 27th, from 7-9 p.m. at Pub 56. All students are invited to join, either to share their own stories, or to just listen and enjoy. For speakers, there are only two simple rules that must be followed – the story must be true, and you only have five minutes to tell it.
At the event, there will be anonymous judges in the audience listening to each story. They will award prizes to the top three storytellers, and the first place winner will be given a spot in NCPR’s Grand Slam Championship event, held in Gulick Theater here at St. Lawrence on December 14th.
Students who are interested in telling a story should email either Jessica Lawrence (jessica@ncpr.org) or James Lehner (jmlehn16@stlawu.edu). However, you can also decide to share on the day of the event, or even during the event.
If you think you’d like to tell a story, but are nervous about presenting it to other students, Paul Graham of the English Department will be hosting a practice session on Wednesday, September 25th in Richardson 015. Professor Graham will give students tips on how to tell their story effectively, and give them time to practice speaking in front of a small audience. The session will be from 7-8 p.m., and is open to the first ten students to sign up.
So, if you think you have the best “hot mess” story on campus, or just want to sit and share a laugh with your fellow Laurentians, come join us at St. Lawrence’s First-Ever Howl Short Story Slam!