by Ami Mattison
I shared my poetry with an audience for the first time at an old-fashioned “poetry reading.”
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| Me, performing in 2003. Photo courtesy of Sir Jesse of Decatur |
It was 1991, and there were four of us. We took turns standing behind a music stand where our poems were laid out, and we proceeded to read in our best “serious poet” voices. You know the voice I’m talking about—the one where every line ends in an upward tone and sounds almost like a question?
Wow, have things changed since those days!
Now, in addition to the mainstay of the literary poetry reading, there are raucous open mics and poetry slams all over the country, where people don’t simply read, they “perform.”
They spit, they slam, they rap, they rant. In other words, they use their bodies and voices to give life to their words beyond the written page.
Now, almost twenty years after my first poetry reading, I earn a modest income from touring and performing my poetry to live audiences. No more serious poet voice for me.
Instead, I give expression to my poetry through dramatic and (what I hope are) well-crafted performances.
It’s All Poetry
There’s long been a rift between the “academic,” or literary poetry scene and the spoken word scene. Academic poets often dismiss the quality of spoken word poetry, while spoken word aficionados think academic poetry is boring. But, in the final instance, it’s all poetry.
Regardless of what a poem is about or how it’s written, it can be performed in a way that entertains, inspires, or moves audiences.
What I Mean by “Performance”
When I say “perform,” I don’t mean memorizing your poem and then screaming it at audiences, though there are certainly enough spoken word performers who do that. Rather, when I say “perform,” I mean finding creative ways to emote through language in order to engage one’s listener.
Performance is an emotional interpretation of your poem.
It is simply using your voice, your body, and your breath to convey not only your words but the layered emotions beneath them.
In other articles, I’ve suggested that memorizing your poetry offers an excellent way to experience it, either alone or in front of audiences.
But you don’t need to memorize your poetry in order to offer a great performance. Reading your poetry can also provide an opportunity to convey it in your own personal and unique way.
And ultimately, the key to a great poetry performance is finding your own voice and your own style of sharing your poetry.
After all, it’s your poetry. And who better to perform it than you?
Why You Should Perform
Many poets who have published works read their poetry as a way to sell and promote their books, and that’s a great reason to perform or read. But you don’t need something to sell in order to perform your poetry. All you need are some poems you want to share and a venue to share them in.
Besides selling your books, there are several reasons to perform your poetry. Here a few of the reasons why I perform:
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