The Columbus Arts Festival provides a showcase for just about every type of art imaginable. A wide range of paintings, photographs, ceramics, sculptures, wood carvings, glassworks, and mixed-media creations can be found inside tents or under awnings. But the festival isn’t just for makers of fine art; it also provides a stage for poets, authors, and storytellers. This past Sunday, three other authors and I stood on the Word Is Art stage and read excerpts of our work to a small but appreciative audience. How did I do? I’ll get to that later.

Six years ago, I would have had total confidence in my ability to give any kind of oral presentation. Back then, I was teaching English and speech classes at Columbus State, and speaking in front of students was a normal part of my work day. But now public speaking was something I seldom did. So while I looked forward to reading the first chapter of The Bullybuster to festival attendees, I wasn’t sure how effective I would be. I’ve always preached the importance of sound preparation to students; now it was time for me to practice what I preached.

First, rather than read straight from the book, I printed off the pages from which I would be reading, putting the text in large font. Later, at the suggestion of Katherine Matthews, the event coordinator, I stapled the pages together, assuring they would not blow away in a heavy wind.

Second, I read the piece aloud first to myself and then to my wife, who also timed how long my presentation lasted. At first, I read only the first half of the opening chapter. But that only took about six minutes, so I added the second half, deleting a few sentences that added color to the story but weren’t necessary to understanding the action. That brought the total reading time to 10 1/2 minutes, which was about as long as it needed to be.

Finally, I attended a rehearsal for readers at the main Columbus Public Library. Katherine and one other reader were the only ones to hear me, but the feedback they offered was helpful, especially the suggestion that I give some insight to the origin of the story.

On the day of the presentation, I arrived well in advance of the 11 am start time and studied the set-up. I was glad to see that a technician was handling the microphone and other parts of the sound system. I was also glad I had stapled the pages of my reading together because a strong wind was blowing. From time to time, sudden drafts would rattle the sides of the tent we were in and send loose papers flying. I met and chatted with the other three writers who were also presenting their work during the “Writers’ Hour.” Jon Chopan read a short story from his Veterans Crisis Hotline, Anne Marie Lutz read a passage from her fantasy novel Taylenor, and Jim Flanagan presented a story about a unique lost and found shop with a tie-in to the Civil War.

My reading went well. I had enough familiarity with it to move away from the text fairly often and maintain eye contact with the audience. I do wish that audience had been larger not just for my sake but for the sake of my fellow writers. There were seven at the start of my reading and two others came while it was in progress. I’m sure there were people passing by who would have enjoyed one or more of the four readings if they had dropped in and listened.

If I do another reading at next year’s festival, I’m going to be sure to have no less than six friends and family members come with me. And they will be obligated to listen to all the readers who are presenting in the same block of time that I am.

In closing, I want to thank Katherine Matthews for coordinating the Writers’ Hour readings and giving me the opportunity to present my work. She handled everything with skill and competence from start to finish. I also want to thank the sponsors of the Arts Festival for the $50 Visa gift card they gave me for participating in the “Writers’ Hour.” Though not necessary, this gift was gratefully accepted.