Forty Words We Wish They Would Hear

Name: Forty Words We Wish They Would Hear
Start: 2026-02-28T18:00:00-06:00
Location: 304 Main

Schedule

Sat, 28 Feb, 2026 at 06:00 pm

UTC-06:00

Location

304 Main | Rockford, IL

Short sets by Clark Kelly and Gavin Epperson have just been confirmed. More details coming soon.
This night is going to be incredible.
Some things don’t need a whole story. They need forty words.
40 Words We Wish They Would Hear:
I’m hosting a small, very human art and storytelling event.
Across Rockford, people are writing letters to someone who they wish would hear. Each letter is addressed to a role. A parent. A friend. A mentor. A rival. Someone unreachable. Each letter contains exactly forty words. No more. No less.
I'm also inviting you to participate. Here’s the whole idea:
Write an anonymous letter that is exactly 40 words long.�To someone you wish would hear.� A friend. A parent. A mentor.
That’s it.
You don’t need to be a writer. That’s the point.
The constraint does the work. Forty words forces clarity and keeps the writing honest. No rambling.
Five themes:
Loss.
Regret.
Gratitude.
Unfinished business.
Unspoken truth.
Submission is free.
Form here:
https://forms.gle/K3vTGJa6hPyKx7ZaA
Only five letters will be read aloud. One from each theme. The rest will fill the walls. Anonymous. Exact. Unfiltered. Together they form a portrait of this city that does not exist anywhere else.
The final letter will close the program. When it is finished, the microphone will be set aside. No closing speech. No commentary. The room will be yours to walk, read the walls, talk, or sit with whatever the night brings forward.
Event Entry is five dollars or free for Patreon members.
It is free to submit a letter.
This is an Our City, Our Story fundraiser and Patreon awareness night. http://www.patreon.com/ourcityourstory
If you want to understand Rockford beyond its surface, this is the night.