Writers group finds home at Opposable Thumbs

On a warm spring Friday evening, the door is propped open at Opposable Thumbs. Friendly chatter floats out into the street as a small crowd gathers in the bookstore. The seven o’clock setting sun illuminates the floor to ceiling bookshelves. The Audubon Eight Writers Group’s Spring Equinox reading and open mic night is about to begin.

Started last September, the writers group meets every Wednesday night at Opposable Thumbs at 5:30pm. The Audubon Eight is a group of area writers, and though not technically eight members they found the name catchy and fun. For one hour, the members talk about writing, read their current pieces, and offer supportive critiques. The group offers a creative healing through written words. Sharing struggles and aspirations.

Opposablethumbs3Robin Sauerwein, founder of the Audubon Eight Writers Group, is also editor of the Audubon Neighborhood Association newsletter. Some of Sauerwein’s previous work has been published, and she is currently working on a moving memoir of her mother’s struggle with cancer.

“I’m working on it slowly,” Sauerwein said.

Instead of meeting at the usual coffee shop or member’s home, Sauerwein decided on Opposable Thumbs. Starting a writers group was something she'd been thinking about and the bookstore's willingness to work with neighborhood artists made her decision easy.

Sauerwein is grateful to Ed Hilbrich, owner of Opposable Thumbs, for offering his space every Wednesday night. She notes Hilbrich’s incredible support of the arts, including the recent hosting of the Imaginary Press Reading Series. A poet himself, Hilbrich joined in on Friday’s open mic.

Doug Davis, the oldest member of the group and native of Northeast, wore a black beret and spoke with a powerful voice. He is a retired teacher, book binder and poet who is constantly inspired to write poems from everyday events -- for example The Equinox 2007 came to him as he was driving home one day. A more moving piece, War is Hell, was written in response to a true story about a 21-year-old man in Wisconsin.

Rebecca Dosch-Brown is a poet with a quirky style. Dosch-Brown joked that being a mom means you are always looking for something. At the recent reading and open mic event, she read pieces about ears, a lost hat, and the feeling of being lost in a supermarket. In fact, the latter piece titled I am lost in a supermarket came about after a Wednesday night meeting.

Fourth generation Northeast resident, Kent Hatcher read poetry at the Friday event. He was a charming speaker, and his pieces seemed full of crisp imagery with a beat era inspiration. Hatcher, 70, danced professionally for 17 years, seven and a half of those with the American Ballet.

The Audubon Eight Writers other members who could not make it to Friday’s Spring Equinox reading are Amy Ogren and Evelyn Ashford.

The group invites all new writers, young or old, to attend its Wednesday night meeting, so next time you need a spark of inspiration, consider dropping by Opposable Thumbs.