Both students and Champaign-Urbana community members gathered at Gallery Art Bar on Saturday morning for the start of the final day of PYGMALION, where Kyle Seibel, Tyler R. Moore, Angie Patton and other authors showcased their work in a live reading.  

The bar, open early for the event, served coffee, tea and mimosas, along with free donuts for people to enjoy during the show. Overhead lights were dimmed, and blue and purple stagelights set the scene. 

“I thought that with the coffee, with the doughnuts, the energy that the readers had, it was a great way to start a Saturday,” said Nathan Metz, graduate student studying poetry.  

Metz has attended nearly all of the University’s literary events for years, supporting his colleagues and friends. He says events like these really help bring the community together and support small authors and their careers. 

“It’s just nice to have some sort of literary community in a small college town,” Metz said. 

Seibel brought energy to the stage, emotionally reading “The Office of Future Plans,” a short story from his collection “Hey You Assholes.” Murmurs of appreciation and soft laughs rippled around the room at the mix of humor and profundity. 

Seibel opened his reading by addressing the audience, thanking everyone for coming out to engage with literature. Many of the people who came out to listen to the readings today were friends of the authors or writers themselves, coming out to revel in their shared interests.

Many attendees echoed similar sentiments, appreciating not just the quality of the writing but the energy and diversity of voices represented on stage.

Christine Powell, a graduate student studying veterinary medicine, said she enjoys coming to these readings as a way to stay informed about what her community is doing. 

“I think it’s a great chance to hear about new things the writers are working on and to give the writing a voice,” Powell said. 

As he read, Seibel threw the pages onto the floor in a dramatic flourish as he finished each one. He read with the cadence of a stand-up comedian, punctuating each sentence and pausing frequently for dramatic effect, making eye contact with the audience. 

At the end of the reading, a jaunty jingle began to play as Seibel swayed back and forth in a little dance. Some backup dancers came to the stage as well.

“Please buy my book, it’s $15,” Seibel said as the crowd laughed and clapped.

In the intermission, the authors mingled with their colleagues and audience, sharing more information about their work and signing copies for people to purchase. 

“There’s a dynamic collection of readers,” said Zach Simon, lecturer in LAS. “I thought it was entertaining, but great writing too.” 

Next up, Patton came up to the stage to share some of her poetry as this year’s poet laureate for C-U. 

Patton read some emotional excerpts about dealing with her father’s death and raising her daughters. She was moved to tears at some points, pausing to let the emotion wash over the crowd. 

“I think it’s fun because you can only get so much voice when it’s only just the words on the page … there’s things that are missing when you’re just sitting on your couch reading in silence,” Metz said.

In between readings, Patton described how her love for her family and support from her daughters really shaped her career in writing. 

“It’s a funny thing at 56 to have your writing career start to take off,” Patton said.  

Overall, these author readings both allowed writers to get their work out there and to bring together a small but mighty corner of the C-U community. As the weekend came to a close, attendees reflected on the diverse range of events offered through PYGMALION, from literary readings to live performances and music. 

“I just love PYGMALION,” Simon said. “Going to so many events and they’re all so different — Thursday we were at Bob the Drag Queen, now it’s 10 in the morning and we’re listening to writers drinking coffee. It’s been a really great weekend.” 

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