Fiona Prine at Future Break

Fiona Whelan Prine worked at Windmill Lane Recording Studios in Dublin before coming to America in 1993. She is married to singer/songwriter John Prine and they have 3 boys. First and foremost a proud mother, a community volunteer, on Board of Trustees at University School of Nashville, and is presently pursuing a B.A in Liberal Studies at Belmont University. She self-authors broadcasts on RTE -Ireland's largest radio station. She is an advocate for the RISE Foundation based in Dublin, Ireland - an organization that supports the families of loved ones in addiction.
Youth Speaks Nashville is now Southern Word. Learn more at www.southernword.org.
Through the literary and performing arts, Southern Word offers creative solutions for youth to build literacy and presentation skills, reconnect to their education and to their lives, and act as leaders in the improvement of their communities. We are absolutely committed to providing youth, especially in underserved communities, with as many opportunities as possible to develop and publicly present their voices both live and in print, video, audio, and digital media.
In Future Break, Nashville's writers, musicians, & thinkers came together for 7 unique performances to determine the city's future 10 to 10,000 years from now. Presented by Southern in collaboration with the Frist Center for Visual Arts, Nashville Public Library, Sigourney Cheek Literary Garden at Cheekwood, and Dark Horse Theater, the performances were a series of staged monologues, readings, essays, songs, and spoken word pieces featuring more than 65 writers including Jody Nardone, Jerry Navarro, Minton Sparks, John Egerton, Bill Brown, Nashville in Harmony, Sam Davidson, Barry Scott, Kent Agee, MC Squared, Christine Mather, Rashad thaPoet, Ross Falzone, Phil Madeira, Stephanie Pruitt, Jackie Welch Schlicher, Cheley Tackett, Diallo, Joe Scutella, and Jene India. The performances were directed by Mary McCallum, Shawn Whitsell, Kelly Falzone, and Valerie S Hart and filmed by Molly Secours.
Future Break expands on the success of Nashville Now: Spoken Word Census. In 2010, 55 writers convened to create a breathing portrait of Nashville, a literary arts census. Over three nights, they represented Nashville voices through a collection of essays, songs, and poems. Response to the series was so positive that Southern Word and participating writers and directors are growing the event this May to paint the future of Nashville into existence through words and songs.
Future Break is sponsored through the generous support the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, Tennessee Arts Commission, Nashville Public Library, Willy and Ann Stern, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, and Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art.