Ann Bracken co-founded Wilde Readings with Laura Shovan and Linda Joy Burke. The free literary reading series, which takes place in Howard County, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Photo courtesy of Ann Bracken

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Poets, it’s said, are solitary people, but not in Howard County.

On a given Tuesday evening in Columbia, you may stumble upon a gathering of poets reading their work aloud in a bookstore. That’s Wilde Readings, the county’s free literary reading series, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Its co-founders, Laura Shovan, Linda Joy Burke and Ann Bracken, will read their poems at Queen Takes Book, a Columbia book shop, on June 9.

Wilde Readings, which runs year-round except for July and August, was the brainchild of Shovan, a local poet, teacher and children’s book author.

Shovan had just stepped down as editor of Little Patuxent Review, a literary journal based in Columbia, so she could publish her debut book. She wanted to stay connected to the literary community and create a place for poets to read their work in Howard County, so she reached out to fellow poets Burke and Bracken to make it happen.

“Since we didn’t have a regular reading series — there was one in Annapolis and two in Baltimore — I grabbed Ann and Linda Joy and said we should do this,” Shovan said. The three had worked together at Little Patuxent Review and the Baltimore Book Festival.

“The three of us had done other projects together, so it was more like getting the band together rather than racking my brain to find someone” to help launch the project, she said.

Next they needed a name for the series. Howard Community College professor and poet Patricia VanAmburg suggested Wilde Readings, for both writer Oscar Wilde and Wilde Lake in Columbia. From there, it was just a matter of reaching out to poets — friends and people they admire — to ask them to read.

Over the last 10 years, Wilde Readings has featured 200 writers, or two per month for 10 months out of the year.

How the evenings run

Readings take place on the second Tuesday of the month in a bookstore, Queen Takes Book (previously at Long Reach Village Center). To open the 90- minute event, one of the three co-facilitators introduces the two authors who are scheduled to read their work.

From Grace Cavalieri to the state’s first youth poet laureate, each speaker has brought their own unique point of view to the podium. The featured authors receive a small stipend from the Howard County Poetry & Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo).

After the readings, the audience is first invited to ask questions.

“That conversation piece is a reason why people feel welcome,” Shovan said.

If they’re feeling really comfortable, the audience — some writers, some diehard regulars, some newbies — can step up to the microphone to read their own poems. Some readers have never shared their work before, but they get a lot of encouragement, Bracken said.

“The open mic part is a lot of fun,” Bracken said. “A lot of people don’t read poetry, but we do consistently have a good audience. We frequently have new people.”

Welcome atmosphere

The vibe at the readings is welcoming, according to all three facilitators. It’s important to have a venue for poetry to be spoken aloud, Bracken said.

“Poetry is really meant to be listened to and experienced,” said Bracken, a teacher. “It’s very different to read a book of poems on the page, but it’s another thing entirely to hear the poet who wrote those words speak those words to the audience,” she added.

“The first poets were always speaking poets, and they memorized all their work,” Bracken explained. “The rhyming scheme helped the poet and the audience remember and follow along.”

Local poets

New poets can make connections and get support from the open mic sessions at Wilde Readings, Burke pointed out.

“As seasoned professionals in our field, we are all able to help nurture them,” said Burke, a longtime performance poet, writer, percussionist and workshop leader. “We understand the importance of building community, and [Wilde Readings] is our way of perpetuating what was possible for us,” she said.

Wilde Readings may be the only sandbox in Howard County for burgeoning poets. HoCoPoLitSo often brings major American poets to Columbia, but up-and-coming ones didn’t have a venue until 10 years ago.

“What we advocate for are the poets and writers who are your next-door neighbors,” Burke said. “Whether you know it or not, they are published authors. None of this work is like anybody else’s work.”

Everyone is welcome at the microphone — the more unique, the better, Burke said.

“We have a listening audience who are hearing stories that perhaps they’ve never heard before. That makes a difference when it comes to finding your own voice,” she said.

Last hurrah for Burke

This year will be Burke’s last as co-facilitator of Wilde Readings. She’s stepping back from her role as graphic designer and event promoter to work on a book.

There’s a playful, experimental aspect to each reading, Burke said. After all, poems can be offbeat, creative and unexpected.

“We want to goose people up — bring people to life with what we, in the writer community, do,” Burke said.

“I believe that our job as humans is to create. Why we’re given problems, when we don’t get along — all of that is to create something different. That’s what we do as writers,” she said.

“That’s why this matters and why I decided to stick around for 10 years.”

Wilde Readings take place on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. from September through June. There’s plenty of free parking at Queen Takes Book, located in Suite E of the Snowden Center off Oakland Mills Road in Columbia.