Hi Tennessee Library Association leaders,

My name is Sarah Ostman – I’m writing from ALA’s Public Programs Office.

 I was recently contacted by the manager of musician/performance artist Amanda Palmer, who is touring a one-woman show. She is a big fan of libraries and wants to give away several hundred free tickets to library staff. (It’s a legit offer – a few weeks ago we gave away tickets to her show in Chicago, and it went seamlessly.)

 There is a show coming up in Nashville on May 18, and we have several hundred free tickets to give away. Could you possibly share the below message with libraries (any type) in your area? It has all the details, a link where people can sign up, and a message from Amanda Palmer.

 Hoping some Nashville-area Amanda Palmer fans can take advantage! Please let me know if you have any questions.

 Thanks!

Sarah

 

********

 

Musician/performance artist Amanda Palmer is offering several hundred free tickets to librarians/library staff/volunteers/etc. to attend her one-woman show, There Will Be No Intermission, at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Saturday, May 18, at 8pm.

 

Please claim tickets here:https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XCT33G7

 

Each ticket request will get TWO tickets (the ticketholder + 1 guest). Tickets will be held at Will Call the evening of the show. Please make sure the ticketholder (the person whose name is on the list) brings their ID.

 

Note that this is an “adult show with swearing and adult themes.”

 

(((Below is a message from Amanda Palmer)))

 

Dear People of The Libraries!

 

First of all, if you missed the news, Neil Gaiman and I held our first experimental "Read-in!" at the Austin Public Library a few weeks ago during the mayhem of the SXSW music festival. We partnered with the library (and what a gorgeous library it is!), and on just 24 hours notice, announced that we were going to hold a free event in which people could come armed with a book to read. Then we gathered and for a solid 30 minutes, ALL WE DID WAS....READ!!! People who didn't come armed with a book bought or borrowed from the library. In these loud, loud times, it was pretty inspirational. We hope to do more of these where and when possible.  :)

 

And now....it is with a happy heart that I offer up a handful of tickets to you for my new one-woman show, THERE WILL BE NO INTERMISSION.

 

Let me tell you a little bit about the show, and maybe you'll understand why it was important to me to reach out to The Libraries, of all places, with this offer.

 

I'm primarily a songwriter, but in the past few years, I've also turned into more of a storyteller, speaker and writer. My book, "The Art of Asking", which was based on a TED talk of the same name, showed me that there was a wider audience out there who wanted to hear stories about connection, self-acceptance and the real role that art, music, writing and creation plays in the housekeeping of the human soul. The last few years of my life haven't been the easiest. I got married to Neil Gaiman (patron saint of libraries; whose work I can guess you're all familiar with), and on our journey as maniac-art-makers, we also went through two abortions, a birth, the death of my best friend, the death of many of Neil's mentors and friends....and last Christmas, a painful miscarriage. The album that ultimately came out of me is the most raw, personal and honest one I've ever written. Inspired by the work of other brave women around me, I wanted to knock on new doors of honesty and see who would open.

 

The answer to my call has been overwhelming. I see it more and more; the truth is infectious, and the more I see women standing up to speak the truth of their experiences, the more I see other people standing up against stigmas of all kinds: and speaking, speaking, speaking. Speaking the truth. The #MeToo movement is just one manifestation fighting against a global epidemic of fear: fear of expression our humanity, our experiences, our stories.

 

Given all that....this show isn't my usual fare: I'm used to just getting up with a band or piano and singing a variety of songs and getting off stage, wheeeee.

 

This show is different. Part songwriting, part dark stand-up show, part TED talk, it's more of a journey into the heart of art and expression: WHY we write what we write, and what we think is "allowed" to be spoken, written, said....and an exploration into where those beliefs come from. Why we don't say what we don't say.

 

I've only just started this tour but I can already feel the resonance out there with so many of my community, especially with so many women who feel they haven't been allowed to share their stories.

 

I open the show with a song dedicated to Judy Blume, and it's sort of an invocation.

Singing to Judy (regarding being a lost teenager trying to find my voice as a writer) I sing:

 

No one had taught me yet thoughts were a "good" or "bad" thing

but you taught me that you could say anything you could think...

So go on and think what you want

You will not be alone with your thoughts

Well, you will, but you won't in a way,

'cos a girl thought it, too,

in a book

that the library bought.

 

(if you want to hear the whole song, and see a bunch of people reading books, it's here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k02Waw4WXk)

 

I think this show will mean something to you. So...I invite y'all.

 

I hope you can make it. I do warn you: the show is somewhat graphic. I talk openly and plainly about having an abortion, going through a miscarriage, dealing with death and other fun topics.

 

Bring a hand to hold, and maybe bring a handkerchief.

 

 

_____________

Sarah Ostman

Communications Manager

American Library Association
Public Programs Office

312-280-5061