ABOUT SEERSUCKER LIVE
Hi, we’re Seersucker Live. Nice to meet you.
Seersucker Live is 501(c)(3) nonprofit that hosts a series of reading performances, spotlighting literature in Savannah, bringing together local and national authors, area students, and a diverse audience for an accessible and entertaining cultural experience.
Seersucker Live invites three writers to take the stage and give reading performances of their work. The first part of the event is a traditional literary reading. The authors may read anything, of any duration, in any style or genre. The hosts, Christopher Berinato and Zach Powers, will provide “halftime entertainment,” introducing the authors and engaging in general tomfoolery between readings (Chris is a Level 6 Tomfoolerist and Zach is currently taking night classes).
Part two of Seersucker Live is what makes all the difference. In the weeks before the event, each of the three guest authors will be sent a writing prompt, an illustration by Savannah underground artist Lucas Rager. Each reader will write a short piece (500-1,000 words, more or less) based on or inspired by the illustration. The Seersucker Finale will be the performance of these works, to the rowdy delight of the audience.
The final piece of the Seersucker Live puzzle is the Seersucker Live Collegiate Writing Contest. In cooperation with local colleges, Seersucker Live will distribute the writing prompt to area students. The students will submit their own responses to the writing prompt, and the Seersucker Executive Contest Judging Committee, consisting of friends of Seersucker who owe us a favor, will pick a winner. The winning writer will receive a small cash award, and will get to perform their piece with the three guest authors.
At the end of the year Seersucker will publish a print volume called, creatively, The Seersucker Annual. The Annual will collect all the writing prompts, the guest writer responses, student contest winners and finalists, and a few other related writings, and present them in a really pretty book, edited by Christopher and Zach.
Seersucker Live seeks to treat literature with respect without taking things too seriously. We want to show people that literature is, at its heart, entertainment, and that it is accessible to a wide and diverse audience. Seersucker Live is held in a bar (but remains open to all ages) because it is also a social experience. We want to have a good time with literature, and we want you to have a good time with us.