Open Mic and Juvenal's Satires

The great Roman satirist, Juvenal, starts his first satire thus:

WHAT? Must I always be a listener at these readings?
Never get my own word in, get my own back
on he who so often bores me with his rants
or he who spouts his endless farces
not to mention that one's love ditties.
Shall I never be avenged?
Shall I have no revenge on one
who takes up the whole session
with his interminable epic
which after filling even the margin at the front of the page
and the back as well,
shows no sign of coming to an end?

Obviously they didn't have Open Mic sessions in Rome. Luckily we have now and we also have vigilant MCs who ensure that participants don't rant or spout on too long. An open mic session is a bargain - I'll listen to yours if you listen to mine. It gives writers a wonderful opportunity to get feedback from an audience for their work.

Our Open Mic is on tonight in the Village Hall, Knightsbridge Retirement Village, Longwood Road, Trim at 8pm. We have two very interesting featured readers as mentioned in yesterday's post and we welcome participants in the Open Mic. Our MC, Paddy, decides on time allowed based on the number of participants and keeps very strict time.

Expressions such as "rare bird," "who watches the watchers?" and "bread and circuses" come from the Satires of Juvenal.