Now take this poem and write it down.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Flash video.“My Everything” by Liza Garza. Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Flash video.Here’s a freestyle poem, since someone asked about that in class Tuesday. The production value is low, so it’s a little tough to look at, but his ideas are interesting. His name is Award the Poet. One thing I noticed was that the “flow” was there, but he lacked the confidence you see in his other rehearsed poems. Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Flash video.And here’s another one by Kelly Tsai, the poet we showed in our presentation. She’s got a ton of videos on YouTube, if you like her style.
Temple Cone-Seamus Heaney
Wow. The lecture today pretty much cemented Heaney as my favorite poet so far this semester. I had a vague awareness of his work coming into the class, so I was really looking forward to cracking open these poems. Coming from an Irish Catholic (and only recently American) family, Heaney’s got a special uncomfortable spot in our hearts. I’ve never experienced such discomfort from reading poetry before. I came to my mother’s house to share it with her, and she’s sitting across the room, reading “July,” and crying. I vaguely remember hearing talk about the troubles when I was a kid, but it was never called anything. It was what it was. We were never allowed to wear orange. We were poor in Ireland, then we came to America to be poor here instead. That’s the simple version. That’s all they ever tell a kid. But it’s amazing to have it opened up before you, to put a name to it. To think that that kind of thinking can follow a family across an ocean, and here I am, years later, still hung up on it, even though what I’ve been handed is most-assuredly a watered-down version of actual sentiment. My mom says, “You remember it with your blood.”
Filed under personal response | Comment (1)Baggott reading
I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve been to my fair share of author readings (be it poetry or prose) and usually I walk away feeling yuck. This is often because the author lacks charisma as a speaker or because the other people in the audience are too charismatic. Walking into the Julianna Baggott reading, I didn’t notice either of these. Before Dr. Scanlon’s introduction, I was chatting with a couple of classmates (don’t worry, I won’t give you up) about how we’re too normal for a poetry reading. I feel excluded or inadequate a lot of the time, because I’m not artsy enough, or avante garde fashionista enough, or deep enough, or what-have-you. Am I too much of a jock to enjoy poetry? Is my brain too mundane to appreciate a good reading?
Yes, these are questions I really ask myself.
Apparently, I’m not alone. What a relief, to not be the only one who feels out of place. The consensus was that being a “normal” woman in no way impacts your ability to understand language one way or the other. Thanks ladies.
Then the reading began. Julianna Baggot’s whole demeanor was refreshing. Her self-conscious sense of humor was charming, and made me laugh at the conversation I had had before the reading. Oh my god, she’s a normal girl too! Although I wish we had gotten more poetry, I would not have cut a minute from her prose reading. More time altogether would have been great. The excerpt from Which Brings Me to You was hilarious and devastating, and reminds me a lot of how my own brain works. Her attention to detail is incredible. What really struck me was her explanation of the emotionally charged content. To listen to her explain to us, “I always forget how hard it is to read this, and then I almost always tear up afterward.” That’s a real commitment to her words. I feel violated knowing that somebody could be reading my stupid internet blog. To feel that strongly about someone, to write about them, and then to read your words aloud, and still be mostly okay with baring yourself like that…wow.
Filed under personal response | Comment (0)Clips
Slyvia Plath reading “Daddy”
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A video of Charlie Rose from March 19, 1996. About halfway through, Charlie interviews three poets (one of which is Mark Strand, whose book Blizzard of One I reviewed for our assignment) about Joseph Brodsky, who had just recently passed away. I was hunting for a reading by Strand, but apparently no such beast exists on YouTube. However! Strand does dedicate a poem in Blizzard of One to Brodsky.
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Upon further hunting around, go to
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15204
to hear a reading of “A Season” by Brodsky as translated by Strand. Neat.
Filed under found poetry | Comment (0)