Poetry reading or performance

Which do you prefer?

As a lover of poems and music, I’d really like to go to a poetry performance with full percussion. As a poet, however, I’d rather give a reading since I like to read poems aloud. I like what voice inflections can add to a poem and to the listener’s ear, including mine when I’m still revising, but I’m also a list-keeper by nature, which means I’m not apt to rely on memory.

Another poet, however, likes to fill memory cells to the max. Since he also likes to play a guitar, his hands aren’t free to hold a book of poems as he recites his poetry with accompanying chords.

Regardless of your preference, these thoughts might help your poetry reading or poetic performance:

Think about your audience, and select poems they'll respond to and enjoy.

If you have any light humor pieces you can work into your selection, they’ll help you warm readers and relieve tension too.

Read aloud each poem you’ll include with your ear attuned for anything that seems off. Correct by revising any word that causes a glitch in pronunciation.

Keep reading each poem until you really get into it and feel “at one” with the words, thoughts, and sounds – somewhat like getting into character or letting the lines become part of yourself. That sounds odd since you wrote those lines! But sometimes we don’t hear ourselves in a conversation – or in a poem – so this exercise gives you the opportunity to know if you even agree with yourself! If not, revise accordingly or find another poem you can truly embrace and present with passion.

If you make a mistake as you practice your reading or recitation, go back to the last lines that flowed well and start again, so you can hear the poem as it’s meant to be read and heard.

When you feel comfortable with the lines, stand in front of a mirror to help yourself remember to glance up from time to time. While you’re at it, notice how your facial expressions might appear to your audience – not to make yourself self-conscious but to feel how your face feels when it’s ready to face a crowd.

If your first experience is like mine, the crowd will be there too – mulling around, talking loudly, drinking wine, and making it hard to hear for the few who come to sit and listen. You might find yourself raising your voice or playing your guitar longer and louder or replacing poems you picked with a couple of humorous pieces that can’t help but make your listeners laugh as the mullers miss the music and the fun.

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler
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How to read the lines of a poem and in-between

Lounge back.

Read the poem aloud.

Listen to its musicality.

Feel the rhythm.

Picture what's happening.

Enter the experience.

On second reading, sense the sensory devices.

Notice anything unusual.

By the third reading, analyze individual elements.

Listen to the sounds echo across and between the lines.

Think about what first got your attention in the poem and why.

Ask other questions of the poem and your responses too.

For example:

Does the poem contain images? Do they work for you?

Do any of the key words come with connotations?

Do those implied meanings need to be read between the lines?

Do word associations or nuances muddle the meaning or add mystery?

Regardless of what you heard in school about reading poetry, no one knows exactly what a poet had in mind during the writing process or the revisions, but neither do poets know exactly what readers have in mind as they read.

As you read a poem, you bring your own set of experiences, values, and beliefs to that reading. So it’s possible that you and a particular poet just do not connect. No big deal! Just excuse yourself from that poet’s company. If, however, anything at all interests you, keep on reading. Maybe you’ll discover a new technique to try in your poems or a different thought to consider.

Also, be aware that reading poetry can be frustrating if you focus on figuring out what the poet is trying to say. It’s sort of like being in a foreign country where you need help but do not know enough words to ask. That situation differs greatly, though, from sitting in the comfort of your favorite chair with the TV on, listening to voices speaking lyrically in another language. Then, as in reading a difficult or complex poem out loud, you’re free to enjoy the tone, rhythm, and musicality of the sounds whether you understand what’s being said or not. If you find no pleasure in the process, however, go on to your next option and just stop reading.

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler
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National Poetry Month and the 3 Rs

NaPoMo reminds us of three R’s important to poets, not just in April but throughout the year: Reading, ‘Riting, and, you do the ‘Rithmatic to know it’s also time for Revising.

Read Poetry
To become a serious poet become a great lover of poetry.
Enjoy poems more and more as you learn how to read a poem.
Support poetry! Buy poetry books and journals.
Borrow poetry anthologies from your public library.
Study classical and contemporary poems on the Internet.
Investigate Poetry Resources in an earlier article on The Poetry Editor blog.

Write Poetry
Write a poem a day until May.
Research an interesting topic.
Remember a happy/ sad/ scary time.
Describe an event and how it made you feel.
Write a poem to recall a favorite person/ pet/ holiday.
Focus on something in your home or outside your window.
Let thoughts flow without editing, revising, or censoring yourself.
Put these poems aside.

Revise Poems
Each day of NaPoMo, revise an older poem that doesn’t seem quite finished.
Read the poem aloud. Listen for any jolts or flaws in sound or sense.
Ease the process of revising as you get a new vision for each re-vision.
Use this checklist for Editing, Revising, and Otherwise Improving Your Poems.


Have a Happy National Poetry Month! And keep the NaPoMo momentum going all year long.

(c) 2011, Mary Sayler

How To Read A Poem

Laze back and enjoy the first reading, preferably out loud. Listen to the musicality. Feel the rhythm. Relax into the experience without trying to analyze anything.

As you read the poem a second time, notice the sound echoes and images. Especially notice any poetic devices that make the poem unique. Now analyze. Ask, for instance, what grabbed your interest and why.

If the poem includes heightened vocabulary or literary references with which you’re not familiar, look up each one in a dictionary or on the Internet. Why do you think the poet thought that particular word or reference needed to be part of the poem?

Ask other questions of the poem too. For instance, why does an image work or not? Can you see any pattern of thought or form? In what way does a device add to or subtract from the poem’s meaning or impact?

Does the poem make more sense to you than it did on first reading? If not, keep reading aloud, noticing each word, phrase, comparison, or sound that gets your attention.

Consider, too, the connotations for each unusual word. Do the implied meanings add meaning to the poem? If so, how? For instance, a word that suggests more than one meaning might add a sense of mystery or just confusion. Whatever the effect, is it effective?

As the poem reveals itself to you, you begin to own the experience. As you notice and consider each poetic aspect, those techniques become available to you too. You now own the poetic choices that went into the making of this poem – choices that you, too, have the option to utilize as you revise your own poetry for someone else to read, analyze, and enjoy.


Mary Sayler (c) 2010