Poetry Readings

~ carlamcgill

In an earlier post, I mentioned seeing Dana Gioia, editor of many literature anthologies, poet, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and currently the California Poet Laureate. I was inspired by his talk and poetry reading, and later by his book of essays, Can Poetry Matter?         

Photo by Jay R. Hart

Gioia talks about the value of poetry readings as part of his larger goal of restoring the place of poetry in American culture, instead of hiding (burying it?) in academic zones. He suggests multiple ways that readings can be enlivened to interest general audiences. Poets should recite the work of others when giving public readings, celebrating poetry in general. They should mix poetry with other arts, such as music, visual art, and theatre arts. (18 – 20).

Cindy Rinne’s recent reading in Sierra Madre, California fulfilled Gioia’s goals. I have written about her before in another post. You can find her books, Spider With Wings, Speaking Through Sediment, Quiet Lantern, and Breathe in Daisy, Breathe Out Stones at Amazon. You can also see my review there of Quiet Lantern and Doll God by Luanne Castle.

Rinne’s setting in Sierra Madre, California, at the home of warm and wonderful people, Krishna and Eva Malhotra, was beautiful. The expansive terraced gardens provided an excellent atmosphere for the reading, attended by a host of poets, photographers, and visual artists.

We chatted around the table before the reading, sampling the appetizers, finger sandwiches, fruit, and pastries. The reading area was on a large landing between two staircases leading up to a large patio, and the grounds were part of the allure of the event, having lush greenery, extensive lawns, and a concrete stage area, prompting us to discuss future theatrical events that could be held there.

The dappled light added to the ambience as Cindy read from her several collections. A visual artist, Cindy also displayed her work with textiles, and you can see more of it at her website.

She used props, including three Vietnamese dresses she found at a thrift store; the find prompted her idea for Quiet Lantern, a novel in verse, about a Vietnamese family.

Rinne encouraged audience participation also, having a Spanish-speaking couple sing lullabies in Spanish at the appropriate junctures in specific poems, and passing out gifts of “ghost money,” her own handmade paper crafts; ghost money, as I discovered, is money offered for a good afterlife of a departed loved one or as burnt offerings in many Asian cultures.

Though I tend to get a little nervous, which Rinne does not, I love giving and attending poetry readings. Recently, Tim Greek and I participated in a reading sponsored by the Collaborative Arts Collective in Redlands, California. Instead of each of us reading our work solo, we decided to read one or two and then switch back and forth. We spent time orchestrating the progression of poems based on theme, imagery, and tone. It seemed to work out well.

Typically, though, my own have been the straightforward read-a-poem types of readings. I need to experiment with new things! If you are a poet, where do you do readings? How do you determine what you will read? The setting? Any props? Please comment on your experiences!

Gioia, Dana. Can Poetry Matter? Graywolf Press, 1992.
Rinne, Cindy. Breathe in Daisy, Breathe Out Stones. Future Cycle Press, 2017.
—. Quiet Lantern. Turning Point Books, 2016.
—. Speaking Through Sediment. (With Michael Cooper) ELJ Editions, 2015.
—. Spider With Wings. Jamii Publishing, 2015.

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24 thoughts on “Poetry Readings”

  1. I like what your regarding here. I write from a stream of conscience well, and drawing elements of what’s externally impacting me. So too when I read, I often riff on what relevant in the environment whether is politics, weather, wildlife in and out of the audience. If I’m in a pinch for props, the whole world is a stage.

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    1. Christy – Yes, and I find it odd that I was never nervous while teaching classes, and the students are much more critical than my poetry audiences. I think the nervousness will fade as I do more readings, at least that is my hope! Rinne’s reading was very beautiful and inspiring!

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  5. It sounds like such a lovely event. I’m sorry I missed it. I enjoyed Quiet Lantern very much. You’ve given me a lot of food for thought about poetry readings. I think one of the reasons I haven’t sought them out very often is because “the gardener” is not very interested. He enjoyed the one that you hosted a year and a half ago (can it be that long already??? and thank you so very much, Carla), but it’s not something he would want to do too often. But he isn’t the only reason. I am in a mood where I might try to get a better idea of the writing community in Phoenix and decide where I would want to put my limited time, if that makes sense.

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    1. I know what you mean; choosing how to spend time is always a prime effort and full of “opportunity cost.” If we do one thing, it eliminates another. Someday, though, let’s read together again. I enjoyed it!

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  7. Poetry certainly seems to have mattered in some sectors of society, but even way back when in the UK, poets such as John Keats did not live to see their poetry greatly appreciated.

    I suspect that many people do not know why poetry should matter. It often comes across as obscure, inaccessible or self indulgent writing, meant to show the cleverness of the author. In my writers’ group, some poets are trying to make poetry accessible — putting poem excerpts on public benches and other public spaces; including the town’s/city’s poet laureate in many public events, etc. If poetry can be brought “to the people”, that would be a good move.

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  9. What an excellent poetic event. If more people attended these, they’d be less “afraid” of poetry, either writing poems or reading/listening to them. One of my former (creative writing) students lives in Santa Cruz CA now, where she joins a poetry mic every week, and a group gathers and read their poems in front of a — microphone of course. She loves the weekly poetic joy.

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  10. I think that public readings can really bring poetry alive. In my last song recital, a man read poetry in between groups of songs, plus a lot of the songs were poetry set to music.

    I’ve just re-followed you, Carla. As I said in my reply to your last comment on my site, WP seems to have suffered a glitch and dumped you D: Possibly it happened back when I chose a new theme for my blog and reordered things. Who knows?

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  12. I’m like you, I get a little nervous when doing readings. I like being on panels that talk about books and writing much better. Maybe because I’m not actually exposing my creative, precious baby right there and then. It sounds like you had a great time mingling with the other poets.

    I think, in my humble opinion, that some of the modernist poets are responsible for poetry falling out of favor. Long ago anyone could read poets like Whitman or Dickinson and enjoy them. When things get too experimental it alienates people. I have read a lot of good modern poetry though but it surprised me because I hated modern poetry for years.

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  13. What a rich and interesting post, with good ideas about how poetry can be presented to appeal to more people. At our Festival of the Arts last fall, we had a special event with poetry and other media including music, video and choral singing. It was a real success.

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What are your thoughts?