For years I had seen signs around town for Spiderweb Salon shows. I may have even stumbled into a few of them. They were odd and subversive and breathtaking and challenging and magical and haunting and angry and hopeful.
In a word, perfect. Exactly what art is meant to be.
True to my observer persona, I watched and admired from afar, happy to get a once-in-a-while glimpse of this lovely art collective. Sometimes I considered introducing myself, but I held back. After all, I already had two thriving online writers groups and a group of writer friends I met sporadically with in person. I kept in touch with writing/artist friends from fandom and other spaces through Facebook groups and blogging. And while I was an active member of my church choir, I hadn’t really performed or played piano or danced in so long that I was sure I would never find time to practice enough again to pursue it for real.
Then in January 2019, Sarah invited me to the first meeting of Follow the Reader, Spiderweb’s new book club. We had a main book selection and a supplemental read. Sphinx, written by Anne Garréta, was the centerpiece, and it was unlike anything I’d ever read before. I don’t want to give away the linguistic restraint the author used, because I really want you to read it and discover it for yourself. Garréta is a member of Oulipo (Google it if you’re a fan of rabbit holes. And welcome to freakin’ Wonderland), which is the experimental literary collective that Daniel Levin Becker writes about in Many Subtle Channels, our supplemental reading that month.
These book selections would have been enough to keep me coming back. But that’s not all I found that evening.
The people in this group talk about books, reading, and literary life the way I talk about books, reading, and literary life. We discussed the books we read, but we didn’t just muse over the content within, as if something written by a human being could ever be discussed in a vacuum, separated from its place in humanity. The conversation flowed from art to history to oppression to current events to community support and back to art.
Spiderweb had my full attention and loyalty from that first meeting.
I went home and immediately committed to being a monthly supporter of their Patreon (shameless plug – support artists!). It took me a couple of months to start making an appearance at shows, but soon I was showing up at every performance and event scheduled.
I thought I was coming to this book club to reconnect with a friend from high school in a way that guaranteed we’d at least see each other once a month. And I got that (we’re currently working on an album together!). I also found a loving and beloved community that invites me to their stage and supports me in whatever I’m working on. We’re collaborators but we’re friends first, and that fosters an inspiring space for creation of all kinds. They’re the reason I’m dancing again and considering perhaps one day even doing it on stage again (maybe).
And, of course, it all started at book club.
I’m writing about books and people who love them as much as I do this month.
M. Suzanne Terry 
❤
Thank you!
I found myself without words after reading this, Suzanne. So I waited patiently until I knew what little I might add from my own deepest joy at this beautiful collective and the marvelous group with Follow the Reader.
I met Sarah through this book club when I still lived in Central Time (and thus was perfectly aligned to every meeting, even though I joined them from the livestream and the comment section, living states away). A longtime and very dear friend talked about how excited she was for Sarah’s new book club, and when I lamented that I had nothing nearby to compare, she invited me to join, too.
Facebook did us a great service then, providing a group to post poems and discuss excerpts and what they meant to us, and the livestream of each meeting at which I felt quite at home, if on a tiny delay. 8^) I had never met a group of such open-minded, creative, inclusive people, and I was instantly grateful to find a safe space in which to discover new frontiers together.
For the record, I too became a monthly Patreon supporter (and still am). These are artists whose hearts and minds we need to encourage in every way, and that is something small that I can add year-round, no matter where life takes me.
I moved to the west coast after less than a year in Follow the Reader, and I couldn’t always make the meetings after that. My life turned in unexpected new directions, and now I do watch from afar. But I have some of the warmest memories of those times, despite the darkness around me then. Their safe harbor and fascinating inspiration gave me a lifeline to cling to when I thought nothing else made sense.
Follow the Reader remains one of my life’s favorite experiences so far, and I’ve no doubt I will cherish this group forever, however much or little I may participate on my own. 🧡
Love that you’re a part of us!