The Thirsty Word Reading Series: Giving a Voice to Fairfield’s Creative Writers

There’s something comforting about being read to. Maybe it goes back to when we were kids. Growing up in Fairfield in the 1980s, I remember by Mom reading me chapters out loud from The Little House on the Prairie. My older brother read to me from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. I liked to close my eyes and imagine these new worlds, new characters bursting into full color.

It wasn’t until I turned 40 and moved back to Fairfield after a long stint away that I began to find my own voice as a creative writer. Perhaps it was my background in theater doing the talking, but somehow the stories and essays I was starting to put on the page only felt complete if I got to share them out loud.

During my first few years back in town, as I was struggling to find my footing and grow my creative life, someone told me over coffee, “Oh, Fairfield’s great. You can do anything you want here. But you have to do it.” I figured I better get to work. And I had a feeling there were plenty of other creative writers around who’d also relish a chance to read their stuff to a captive—and captivated—audience.

Thus began the Thirsty Word reading series. Launched in 2020, the event takes place once a month at Café Paradiso on the town square. Every third Thursday, a crowd gathers from various corners of town to hear six (or so) writers from around the area read their work. Lightly curated by yours truly, the writing ranges from humorous and heartfelt personal essays, fantastical short fiction, sock-you-in-the-gut poetry, and even original ten-minute plays rehearsed and read aloud by a cast of local actors. Sometimes themes rise to the surface serendipitously, and sometimes they’re planned; December’s event often adopts a holiday theme, while October’s “(Blood)Thirsty Word” leans toward the creepy.

What is the Thirsty Word? It’s spoken-word art rooted in our community. It’s fabulous entertainment—sometimes healing, often hilarious—provided by your very own uber talented neighbors. And, as returning audience members and participating writers might tell you, it’s a rich and rewarding night out.

The next Thirsty Word event is Thursday, April 17, 7:30–9 p.m. at Café Paradiso, 101 N. Main Street. All are welcome to come listen. A $5 donation is suggested, but you can pay what you may. Come early, grab a chai latte or a cool beer, and steep yourself in some stories.

If you’re a creative writer—either new or well-seasoned!—and you’d like to share your work (5–10 minutes) at a future Thirsty Word reading, please email me, Meredith Siemsen, at sourceoffice@lisco.com. One of the gifts of hosting this series has been connecting with—and being inspired by—the wordsmiths all around me. What story do you have to tell? Write it down. Come read it. Because I guarantee you no one else can express it the same way you can.

Meredith Siemsen is senior editor at The Iowa Source magazine and a board member of Fairfield Area Community Theatre.

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