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Ten×9 Nashville, the first satellite of Belfast’s popular Ten×9 storytelling event, is a monthly community storytelling night in Nashville, TN, where nine people have up to ten minutes each to tell a real story from their lives.

Crafted by the brilliant minds of Paul Doran and Pádraig Ó Tuama in Ireland, Ten×9 (ten by nine) is not a creative fiction seminar; it is not a poetry reading or a musical concert. It is not a common sharing of favorite short literary stories or book excerpts. It is not a faith gathering for religious testimonies. All these have their place and their beauty, but they aren’t Ten×9.

This event is about us, our stories, our lived moments. Each month has a theme, particular enough to structure a night of storytelling but broad enough that anyone should be able to find a life story that relates. The themes are starting points, not agendas. Pádraig introduced me to this magnificent Irish proverb: “It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.” Ten×9 is an attempt for us to live in each other’s shelter – through drinks, presence, and narrative. We are strange people telling our strange stories to strangers. Standing on stage with a microphone, storytellers invite listeners to enter into moments of their lives and feel – to penetrate into the undiscovered continents of each other. Any given night will likely leave you in tears, often from both side-splitting laughter and heart-wrenching tales of pain.

Tenx9 is not designed to provide a night of professional storytelling. It will always be a place for the nervous and unsure, a place for new storytellers to “give it a go.” We welcome a range of humans onto the stage–some polished tellers, others most certainly not–but all embodying the messiness of human stories.

Ten×9 currently vibrates at the popular Douglas Corner Cafe on 8th Ave on the fourth (but sometimes the third) Monday of the month at 7:30pm. Hop over here to see when the next event is!

Ten×9 is about real people sharing real stories. Only nine people can share each night, so most participants are simply willing listeners. An audience member will never be specifically targeted to tell a story impromptu. There is no requirement to share if you wish to attend. Just come listen. It is a special thing –and ALWAYS FREE!

You can follow @tenx9nashville tweets and Instagram posts, or Like us on Facebook. If you want to share a story, let us know via the submission form here.

peace to y’all,
Michael McRay
Tenx9 Nashville Founder/Organizer/Co-Host