Open air vault, chamber without walls –– Listening Booth arises out of an abiding interest in the brightening effect of being listened to, even for a brief period of time. Listening Booth is enclosed not by a structure but by regard. As a poet, I always have my ear cocked, and this formalizes this process, letting the listening be the actual piece itself, taking the emphasis off the product. I am not documenting the actual speech, or collecting stories; rather my emphasis is on creating a context for heightened attention. Attention itself is the medium. Listening in this way provides an opportunity for face-to-face conversation when much public conversation now happens with either an absent listener, i.e. on a cell phone, or an absent speaker, i.e. a podcast.
All are welcome to sit down in “the booth” and talk to an attentive listener for five minutes. You may select how you’d like the listener to respond :
1. Silence
2. Non-verbal backchannel responses: hmm, nodding, etc.
3. Neutral verbal responses: “I hear you,” “I understand,” requests for clarifications, etc.
4. Comments, questions, analogous stories
5. Advice
6. Freestyle
After five minutes, the listener will bow and say thank you.
While the intention is to offer an open space for listening, please observe these general guidelines:
a. Please observe the five-minute limit.
b. Participants may return for repeated sessions, but must wait in turn each time.
c. Please maintain a moderate conversational volume.
d. The Listening Booth reserves the right to close a session.