Wild Aster Books Literary Open Mic Night

In a trendy neighborhood in Chamblee, Wild Aster Books is tucked away in a retail complex of restaurants, golf shops, wine bars, and coffee houses. The whistle of the train passing on the tracks echoes in a neighborhood with plenty of parking. Groups of people walk down the street or sit in outdoor patios, their voices and laughter carrying in the late summer afternoon.

Wild Aster Books is relatively new on the block. From their website, the owners say that they are two married people from Ohio who had one child, and then another, and figured why not open a bookstore. Wild Aster meets the definition of quaint, with plush chairs, candles hanging from the ceiling, and a stage with a microphone at the back. On this stage is where they host their many reading events, one of which is the literary open mic.

Their first open mic was the evening of June 20th. So many people attended that it was standing room only. At least two dozen people read, and the open mic lasted from 7 p.m. to 8:40 p.m. when the sun was setting. A few times during the event, the host reminded readers to keep their pieces to five minutes to make sure the night didn’t get too late.

For their second literary open mic, they had tickets on sale at Eventbrite, charging five dollars. This is a growing practice for events at local businesses in Atlanta, and it makes a lot of sense. As long as the prices remain reasonable and people are having a good time, this is a smart way to help small businesses like bookstores thrive while their clientele are entertained by local talents.

On the night of July 23rd, only eight people signed up to read, and the host gave the option for people who felt too shy to sign up to add their names to the list after the initial readers were finished. With that, the first name was called. A young girl went to the stage and read a micro-memoir about running away from home multiple times, and then her brief stint living on Skid Row in Los Angeles, which was even worse than her already low expectations of the area.

An Indian mother read an absolutely brilliant poem about time, and used the sound of a ticking clock to accentuate the passing of events through a lifetime of memories she shared with the audience. Next, her grown daughter read a poem about walking, describing all of the places her feet had taken her and the impressions these locations had left on her as she passed.

Two readers, who had been in attendance at the first Wild Aster Literary Open Mic, also read that evening, and they could not have been more different. The first read from a horror novella that takes place in South Korea. The second read a poem inspired on his honeymoon as he sat on the beach watching cruise ships passing in the ocean.

The last speaker on the sign-in sheet before the host opened up the floor to anyone else wishing to read worked at Wild Aster Books. Their story-teller for kids every Tuesday and Thursday morning from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., she read humorous anecdotes about growing up Catholic in the 60s.

Wild Aster Book’s second open mic lasted about an hour. It was a great time with fascinating readings that kept the audience intrigued during the sixty minute run. As of the writing of this article, their third open mic has yet to be announced on their Instagram. It can’t come soon enough, and we recommend their literary open mic to all interested in sharing and listening to the written word.