© 2024 Milwaukee Public Media is a service of UW-Milwaukee's College of Letters & Science
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Ex Fabula: Learning Curve

Art Montes
Niko Kennedy sharing a story.

Here we are in the home stretch of Season 6. It’s hard to believe that there’s only one regular Ex Fabula Story Slam left before the May All Stars.

We’ve had a fantastic season thus far and are so grateful for our members and supporters who have SOLD OUT the last three shows. So mark your calendar for the April 19th Story Slam, Do the Math. If you do the math, there won’t be many tickets left.

Credit Art Montes
Sue Blaustein up on stage.

This week, we’re thinking about learning and the often-frustrating learning curve. Niko Kennedy shared a moving story about discovering her voice and quieting a severe childhood stutter through poetry. Because of her stutter, Niko turned to her journal to give voice to the words she couldn’t say out loud. Inspired by the brilliance of James Baldwin and Toni Morrison (and Dasha Kelly), Niko discovered spoken word poetry where she not only found her voice but her future.

From Baldwin to Bill Gates. In 2014, Sue Blaustein, union activist and president, shared an entertaining tale about the intricacies of creating spreadsheets. As the union newsletter editor, Sue was given the “simple” task of creating an event check-in database. What she discovered was that she was much better at organizing words than organizing data and her humorous experience with Excel was one many of us can relate to.

With one more month left, there’s still time to have your first time to put your name in the hat and tell your story. We can’t wait to hear what you have to say.

We have the stage. You have the story. Let’s share.

Related Content