Tzara
Continental
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2005
- Posts
- 7,606
Several of the poets here do public readings. I know that bogusbrig, for example, and annaswirls, DeepAsleep, and ewopper (though he seems to have disappeared, at least for the moment) have all commented at some time or another about their having read poems publically. Like, uh, in front of people. Real live people.
Is it just me, or is anyone else terrified by that idea?
I am curious. I assume that you, generic poet, write with an audience in mind. The fact that you all want to post—in some way or other—your poems argues that fact. Even those who have said that they write to please themselves have, by placing their poems here for display (even if not for comment), indicated that they seek an audience. Semi-irrelevant aside: Merriam-Webster's first definition of audience is "the act or state of hearing" which, of course, implies a reading.
In looking at some of my local poetry publication outlets, one thing stood out. One of the "rewards" was a public poetry reading. No thank you, award committee. I would rather eat rat poison.
So. What do you all think about reading in public? Interested? Dying to give it a try? Wouldn't do it to save your dying mother?
Tell me.
Also: When you write, do you think about how your poems sound when read out loud? (This is a very different question. While my finished work may not reflect this, I spend a lot of time thinking about this.) Can your poems effectively be read out loud? (Again, some of the things I write depend upon puns or multiple meanings that would be lost if read aloud.)
If you are writing a poem that you want to recite, do you write differently than you would for a poem that wouldn't be recited?
Or just in general—don't you think that Gonzaga should've been at least a number two seed? I think they were ripped.
Is it just me, or is anyone else terrified by that idea?
I am curious. I assume that you, generic poet, write with an audience in mind. The fact that you all want to post—in some way or other—your poems argues that fact. Even those who have said that they write to please themselves have, by placing their poems here for display (even if not for comment), indicated that they seek an audience. Semi-irrelevant aside: Merriam-Webster's first definition of audience is "the act or state of hearing" which, of course, implies a reading.
In looking at some of my local poetry publication outlets, one thing stood out. One of the "rewards" was a public poetry reading. No thank you, award committee. I would rather eat rat poison.
So. What do you all think about reading in public? Interested? Dying to give it a try? Wouldn't do it to save your dying mother?
Tell me.
Also: When you write, do you think about how your poems sound when read out loud? (This is a very different question. While my finished work may not reflect this, I spend a lot of time thinking about this.) Can your poems effectively be read out loud? (Again, some of the things I write depend upon puns or multiple meanings that would be lost if read aloud.)
If you are writing a poem that you want to recite, do you write differently than you would for a poem that wouldn't be recited?
Or just in general—don't you think that Gonzaga should've been at least a number two seed? I think they were ripped.