| Author | Message | ||
| Rus Bowden
Valued Member Username: rusbowden Post Number: 270 Registered: 03-2007 |
. E-Notes: Thank You Philip Larkin . | ||
| GA Sunshine
Intermediate Member Username: ga_sunshine Post Number: 888 Registered: 06-2006 |
Thank you for sharing this Rus. I've been to one reading/sharing - open mic. The poems I had were not conducive to being read aloud. I had a feeling that underlying meanings were lost, and my poor delivery because of my shyness didn't help. There is going to be a Poetry Slam in October. I'm under the belief that I need to write in a different style to have poems that would be appropriate. How do the rest of you feel about this? *Hugs* Susan | ||
| Lazarus
Advanced Member Username: lazarus Post Number: 1911 Registered: 10-2005 |
Gee Rus, that was short and sweet! I like the thought that not all poetry is suitable for reading aloud. I tried reading a few of my poems into the mic on my video camera. It was hard to get the feeling right. Some poems told me they needed more work too! I was never as surprised by a reading than when I heard Yeats read Innisfree. He chanted it so solemnly; that was never they way I heard it in my head! u-tube is a good place to hear poems read aloud. My Web Page | ||
| Rus Bowden
Valued Member Username: rusbowden Post Number: 271 Registered: 03-2007 |
I found and posted the link to that Larkin quote, finished up some other stuff, and walked downtown to The Lowell Folk Festival. The highlight for me was Colombian harp player Edmar Castañeda with his beautiful wife, poet and expert Latin/jazz singer Andrea Tierra. Their final number was truly remarkable: Canto. Click on Canto, and you will hear Andrea Tierra call the work "a mix of Latin American rhythms with jazz and some poetry." Playing the clarinet is the brilliant Sam Sadigursky, who's latest project is "The Words Project," "which consists of poems set to musical composition. Rather than have the poetry spoken over a musical background, the goal is to create actual songs from the poems, and to use these songs as forms for improvisation." (Unfortunately, Sam Sadigursky was not with the ensemble today, but of course, an excellent jazz violinist from Venezuala was instead, and I did not catch his name.) They received a standing ovation in Lowell. Had to. Through their artistry, there is a pinnacle of performing poetry that is being reached. How would you like your poetry heard through artistry such as this? Now, we have Philip Larkin, who says, "Hearing a poem, as opposed to reading it on the page, means you miss so much." And I agree. So much written-word artistry is lost, the beauty of reading a poem off the page at one's own pace, in one's own setting, for one own's purposes--the silent artistry filled only by what the reader brings, looking back and forth, down, back up, then further down, catching and matching imagery and rhythms in the words, appreciating the craft, hanging onto sentences that must be hung onto. So much is lost. And then there's the case of concrete poetry. Mary Ellen Solt just died. She loved words, and crafted her poetry onto the page, a very concrete poetry. So much would be lost if we only heard readings of it. If fact, though, why would you? Of course, I bet the likes of a Sam Sadigursky could do something wonderful with a Solt poem. So much is lost when we take a stand and say poetry should only be written, or rather should only be spoken, or even that all poems should be appreciated both written and spoken. This discussion is all over the web right now, with some great purview and response: Jim Knowles at mipo's cafe' cafe' a rough draft at Inside the Writers' Studio GA Sunshine and Lazarus at Wild Poetry Forum maryanncorbett and Judy at The Waters ewickliffe, Autonomyisdestiny, and Dragon at The Critical Poet Hopefully, anyone who wishes to, may log into these discussion threads, or register to. These responses are all from IBPCommunity forums, a community we may alll be part of. If not, e-mail me and I will tell you what was said: lowelldude@aol.com. . (Message edited by rusbowden on July 29, 2007) | ||
| Lazarus
Advanced Member Username: lazarus Post Number: 1913 Registered: 10-2005 |
Well! That was interesting! I love that Latin rhythm and music. I think the challenge is in doing the reading well. It takes a lot of practice to be able to read aloud well. I know my father worked very hard at it as an announcer on radio and TV and in recording for the blind. I have recording of his on my utube channel and I never get tired of his voice, but what he's reading is also first rate. Here is a link: Farewell my Lovely part 1 Anyway, this discussion is interesting and I plan to keep following it. -Laz My Web Page | ||
| Rus Bowden
Valued Member Username: rusbowden Post Number: 272 Registered: 03-2007 |
If you haven't already looked at the responses coming in on these threads around the poetry web, it's worth a click in. Here are links to more input and insight into this interboard discussion: Lazarus at Wild Poetry Forum maryanncorbett & JudeGoodwin at The Waters Charza (Ka) at Desert Moon Review Fred at The Critical Poet Jim Knowles and Christina Moon at mipo's cafe' cafe' . | ||
| Rus Bowden
Valued Member Username: rusbowden Post Number: 276 Registered: 03-2007 |
This discussion on Larkin's "hearing a poem" comment is generating some very interesting comments from around the internet poetry world. Check out: talliesin at PenShells Didi Menendez and Jim Knowles at mipo's cafe' cafe' . | ||
| Fred Longworth
Advanced Member Username: sandiegopoet Post Number: 1846 Registered: 05-2006 |
As a poet, you are often faced with this choice: Do you want to craft a line that tries to get at some truth of experience, or do you want to craft a line that gets a big rise from your audience? (This is not to say that your truth is an absolute -- valid from all perspectives -- but rather that it is a truth that works for you, from your perspective, or from the POV of a fictitious persona in the poem.) The SLAM poet will tend to choose the line that gets the rise from the audience, because that is how s/he wins SLAM competitions. Unfortunately, if you stop people at random in the shopping mall and ask them about modern poetry, you'll often hear that SLAM is modern poetry. To me, this is like saying that a pie in the face is the one true comedy. Fred | ||
| Rus Bowden
Valued Member Username: rusbowden Post Number: 283 Registered: 03-2007 |
On the Larkin quote, "Hearing a poem . . . means you miss so much," this has been quite the inter-forum discussion. Since the last update . . . Beth Vierra has a fine response at The Critical Poet So does Fred Longworth at Wild Poetry Forum Check out what Christina Moon and Jim Knowles say at mipo's cafe' cafe' And Peterpan comments at Mosaic Musings . |
