As a poet I feel like this is more of a prose debate (not that I haven’t seen poets bomb a reading before) because reading and preforming feels so inherent to the poetry experience. Readings to me are the equivalent of the concerts, which makes them intrinsically interesting. I often go out of my way to see a poet read their work and can care more about that than the Q&A portion. Looking at you, Ilya Kaminsky.
That said, I enjoyed your performances for Lizard People and as a form, I think you raise a fair point about there being a lot of room for innovation depending on the context. Apparently the Ancient Greeks used to dance during readings of the Iliad based on the rhythm of poem, so it would be interesting to see what contemporary traditions could arise from breaking the structure. Maybe it would even change how we write/consume literature.
I’ve been lucky enough to see you perform from both of these books, and you’re right about creating an expanded universe. And that therapist character is GOLDEN
Thanks, man! It was fun to collab with our respective characters on that book beef, too. The performance had some people questioning what was real, which was hilarious!
As a poet I feel like this is more of a prose debate (not that I haven’t seen poets bomb a reading before) because reading and preforming feels so inherent to the poetry experience. Readings to me are the equivalent of the concerts, which makes them intrinsically interesting. I often go out of my way to see a poet read their work and can care more about that than the Q&A portion. Looking at you, Ilya Kaminsky.
That said, I enjoyed your performances for Lizard People and as a form, I think you raise a fair point about there being a lot of room for innovation depending on the context. Apparently the Ancient Greeks used to dance during readings of the Iliad based on the rhythm of poem, so it would be interesting to see what contemporary traditions could arise from breaking the structure. Maybe it would even change how we write/consume literature.
This is a great way to describe readings. So much creativity in the performance!
I’ve been lucky enough to see you perform from both of these books, and you’re right about creating an expanded universe. And that therapist character is GOLDEN
Thanks, man! It was fun to collab with our respective characters on that book beef, too. The performance had some people questioning what was real, which was hilarious!
They did! I’ll be posting that beef soon on Substack.