The Bridge Series

I have tried very hard to keep my political views out of the Cafe, but sometimes, something comes along and you realize, keeping your views out aren't the right way to go anymore.  People need the arts, we need the arts.  Children need the arts, if nothing more than to learn how to express your inner thoughts (with all the proper grammatical spellings and punctuation).  And I am not trying to make this a Democrat vs. Republic thing - because honestly this isn't about that - it is about what we need as a country and how we as artist keep taking the hit, because why do we need to fund writers and the arts.... Because they are IMPORTANT is why.

Before I started the Cafe, I was an editor at a little Pittsburgh publication called The New Yinzer, where I met and worked with Kris Collins.  That was over 10 years ago (where does the time go?).  While we have both broke from the Yinzer proper, we have kept in touch over the years (thank you Facebook).  One day I saw a post from Kris about the Bridge Series and how it began and thought this is something I can get behind and share with my fellow readers/artists/writers/etc.

Please read the following interview with Kris and Jason (The founders of The Bridge Series) and feel free to go to one of their poetry shin-digs. Let's support the arts, because if we don't - I am not sure who will.

Nicole

1.     I have read that the inspiration for this series came from the election results in November 2016.  Will the pieces being read be politically motivated/hear us the people and what we think about this new elected official?

Jason Baldinger: The first reading definitely had some people reading pieces motivated by the current political situation. Kris and I talked ahead of time that we feel like this should be a conversation through art, but what that conversation should entail is up to our readers as much as it is our board members. We are not booking people with the intent that they alter how they write to fit into a theme, I would say that the current administration has motivated some people to write more politically than they may have before.

Kris Collins: It's true that the inspiration for The Bridge Series came out of the the whole What-do-we-do-now? feeling we had after the election. We were each asking ourselves questions about the validity and purpose of art moving forward with an administration that is so antithetical to the values of self-expression, community, and thoughtful discourse. A lot of people in the Pittsburgh literary community were asking themselves these very same questions as it turned out. It was also very clear that the more marginalized members of the greater community (local and national) would be in even greater need of allies. The series was created to be a space for conversation and education, as well as our usual emphasis on the written word and having a good time. We neither require nor expect our featured readers to present exclusively political content. However, it does feel like, thanks to Trump, everything carries political weight whether that was the original intent or not.

2.     How do you plan to merge the community/activists/writers for this reading series?

Jason: Hopefully the series becomes about empowerment, ultimately. If you book community organizations together with writers you are giving both an opportunity to learn, to network, and to find new paths by which to work together in the future. I certainly hope the same happens for our audiences. 

Kris: It was very important to us that our guest organizations occupy the stage with the writers. The reps from the organizations will have the same stage time as the featured writers to present their missions to the audience. It's not simply a matter of having a rep present while the writers do their thing on the stage. It's a matter of equivalency. Also we're very interested in representing many different corners of the writing community. The Bridge Series is not meant to be a venue exclusive to poets. We want to have fiction writers, journalists, memoirists, comic book writers, etc. represented on that stage.

3.    How are you choosing the organizations that benefit from the funds raised from the reading series?

Jason: Fortunately, Pittsburgh is loaded with non-profits so that helps! When Kris and I had our initial discussions about this we felt that the two of us booking nine readings was absurd and really not in conjunction with our initial vision of the series. Kris in particular felt that putting together a board of fellow writers, all of which also have an acute sense of social justice, would help distribute not only the work load but it would give us a wider field from which to see and act from. It works out that each member of our board will be booking at least one show, as well as helping inform and flesh out our other bills. Again, the more eyes you can try and see through other peoples eyes the easier it is to get a better idea of a more equitable society, not to mention reading series, looks like.

Kris: The advisory board is such a vital part of making The Bridge Series work. For the series to succeed it needs to be run as a collective. Jason and I as the co-directors will deal with the logistics of readings (working the door, hosting duties as needed, PR, etc.) which frees up the advisory board members to curate the evenings and build what we hope is an incredibly diverse series. The first couple of organizations that were featured were probably determined as much by current events as by us. Be Well! Pittsburgh works to help people without health insurance. NAMSC aids with refugee resettlement in our community. These issues in the headlines of the news every day now.

4.    Would you ever consider evolving from readings to other forms of speech –i.e. music/art/etc.

Jason: Both Kris and i felt that getting the series grounded/ branded was the first and foremost idea. We figured if people knew that the last Wednesday of the month at the Brillobox was a good start. Once we get further down the line there will be more of an opportunity to jump off from that and try satellite venues and events which could include different media. Also, both Kris and I are doing other benefits outside of the bridge series which will be fund raisers for other organizations. I just did a reading last week that raised money for the Southern Poverty Law Center, and have a few other events upcoming. Kris has some planned parenthood readings coming up as well, I believe.

Kris: We came up with a very basic format for the events to start with. Like Jason said we wanted to let the audience know what the series was about, how the rhythm of the evenings would go, and give them a 'Tune in next month, same Bridge-time, same Bridge-place' expectation. However, the simplicity of our basic format allows for an incredible elasticity. As far as we're concerned songwriters and hip-hop artists are a part of the writing community, so down the road we will hopefully see them represented.

5.    Where can we find the Bridge Series if we wanted to attend?  Facebook information?  Youtube/podcasts available?  

Here's the link to the bridge Facebook page.

Here's the podcast Kris and I did before the launch

Check here for upcoming events 

6.    If people wanted to donate to the cause – but maybe aren’t local or able to make the reading nights – what can you suggest they do?

Kris: We provide contact info for all of our guest organizations on our FB page and on the event pages. If you're not local and you want to donate just follow us on FB, But also look into the organizations in your own community. I'm sure they would love to hear from you as well and could certainly use the help.