Narrative, the bookstore that opened in Somerville’s Davis Square in May, has launched community-building “Narrative Nights” with four kinds of events: Flow State, Books & Bonds, Healing Hearts and Making Moments. For this week’s Read, I spoke with owner Mila Hossain to break down what each entails, plus what to expect at Narrative in November.
Hossain started hosting events in September and will have the four categories recur as regularly as possible, fitting them around other happenings: The store also hosts author features, which include moderated conversations, Q&As, book signings and the like. Hossain said book clubs are coming soon. “Building community has always been a big part of the plan, and events are a very significant way to achieve that,” she said.
“These events are a bit more intimate, and include partnerships with other organizations or individuals,” Hossain said of Narrative Nights, which she called “home events.”
Flow State
What: Celebrations of creativity and expression.
One Flow State staple is a monthly open mic night co-hosted by Aparna Paul, who also organizes and often hosts the weekly Boston Poetry Slam at the Cantab Lounge in Central Square. Paul “reached out to me way back in the beginning” about organizing open mics, Hossain, “and it’s been so special.”
All mediums are welcome. “We’ve had musicians, we’ve had poetry, we’ve had storytelling,” Hossain said. “At the last one I cried four different times. I feel so honored that folks feel comfortable and safe enough in this space to want to share their work.”
The open mic nights sometime include featured performers; September’s included poet and essayist Yena Sharma Purmassir. Sign-ups to perform are first-come, first-served on the night of the event, and performers must provide their own equipment (and keep in mind that the space is small).
People don’t have to perform to attend; Hossain encourages anyone who wants to experience the event to come and cheer on others.
Barring scheduling conflicts, open mic nights are held the third Thursday of every month.
Books & Bonds
What: Social reading parties to which attendees can bring books (or buy one at the store) and spend an hour reading quietly with others.
“It’s a space for people to do something that is very individual, but together,” Hossain said.
Silent reading parties such as these have taken off: Porter Square Books and Juliet Social Club host them too.
In the last half-hour, people are encouraged to socialize. “After the first one, someone came up to me who was new to town and said it was so nice because it’s a more low-stress way to meet new people,” Hossain said. “You immediately have something to talk about.”
Hossain offers name tags and recommends people write on them something that made them smile that day and something that made them not as happy. It’s another conversation starter that seems to work.
“I said to a group of people who were leaving together, ‘Thanks for coming, thanks for bringing your friends,’ and they were like, ‘Actually, we just met here! We didn’t know each other before,’” she said. “They were talking so comfortably I thought they already knew each other.”
Healing Hearts
What: Mindfulness and care-focused events that Hossain wanted to include in an “effort toward collective healing.”
“A lot of times it’s hard to prioritize our health and healing, and I’m hoping to provide spaces for that,” Hossain said.
September’s Healing Hearts event was an hourlong vinyasa yoga session taught by instructor Riva Yeo. The motive, in part, is to make care practices such as yoga accessible to all. A $5, the class was more affordable than typical studio classes, and in a more low-key setting.
“Someone who came told me they’ve always wanted to try yoga, but finds the traditional class situations to be intimidating, and this was a great way to try it out,” Hossain said.
Future Healing Hearts events might include meditation sessions and journaling practices.
Making Moments
What: Creative events such as craft circles, where everyone creates on their own, or workshops and skill shares where people can learn.
“The name is a little bit of a play on words, because you will actually be making something in the moment, but we will also be making moments together,” Hossain said.
Last month’s event was an open craft night for which Hossain provided art supplies and a Coloring Club, for which a group of local artists made custom coloring page designs with Narrative’s logo. Attendees could color or bring a project they were working on.
“We all just sat around and worked on our projects and socialized at the same time, and it was such a nice way to spend an hour on a weekday,” Hossain said.
Craft nights like that will return, she said, but Making Moments events can also be opportunities for more focused, skill-based workshops. In October, Narrative hosted a writing workshop on gothic love poetry with Zinnia Smith, a Somerville writer and instructor.
“Learning from each other is really important, as is finding joy in the things that give other members of our community joy,” Hossain said.
She encouraged anyone interested in sharing a skill or leading a workshop to reach out via email.
Registration and logistics
With her first events, Hossain realized her system didn’t work: People were lining up outside for an hour beforehand, and she had to turn many away. In October, she started ticketing. Each month’s events are announced in Narrative’s newsletter and on its Instagram and website with registration links.
“I felt weird about it at first, but it works … if you’re registered, you know your spot is secured,” Hossain said.
Narrative Nights events tend to sell out quickly, especially because Hossain keeps the groups small in line with the intention behind the experience. The ticketed events come with a small cost of around $5 to $15 – largely because, as Hossain heard from the owners of bookstores and other businesses, free registration tends to lead to no-shows – but for most events the ticket price can be put toward an in-store purchase.
Snacks and drinks are sometimes provided through neighborhood partnerships, such as with Cambridge Naturals.
“The whole point of all of these events is really the exchange, whether it’s forming connections with others, sharing work, learning in a workshop, reading together and beyond,” Hossain said.
November’s calendar
In November, Narrative hosts author features with Kiran Bath (“Instructions for Banno”) and Megan Pinto (“Saints of Faith”) and with Caroline Choe (“Banchan: 60 Korean American Recipes for Delicious, Shareable Sides”), as well as two Healing Hearts events and two Flow State events. (November events are not posted as of this writing.)
Healing Hearts events include a Nov. 12 collective healing circle with Black Girl Environmentalist; and a Nov. 17 community grief ritual led by artist and therapist Nina Bhattacharya, also known as Radio Rani.
“With everything that’s going on, I think a lot of people are going to be needing that, myself included,” Hossain said.
Flow State events will include an open mic hosted by Paul and featuring Joshua Nguyen, the author of “Come Clean,” as well as an artist showcase featuring a jazz band.
Narrative will celebrate Small Business Saturday on Nov. 30.
Some events may still be added to the calendar; check Narrative’s website or Instagram for the most up-to-date information.
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