A quick post here to link to an article on poetry readings from Jess Lacher at the Kenyon Review blog:
“Whatever happened to the sort of reading out loud we got when we were kids– when your mom talked in a monster’s voice, when the scary parts became whispers and there was relief in her voice when the day was saved? Here’s an idea: treat your audience like the exhausted child-brains they are…”
Although some of her tips have been discussed here before, her goal and attitude about readings being for the AUDIENCE, not the poet, are worth a read.
Find her post here.
July 7, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Those are good rules!
July 28, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Thanks for flagging this Donna. I particularly like the way she ends: “Your job is not to test the limits of the human brain, but to be respectful of the clock…” At the end of the day, each listener brings their own prejudices and preferences to their listening, and the fact is that most readers just won’t please all, or even most, listeners. Keeping it short and sweet is probably the best reading ground rule there is.