Reading Poetry to Greater Effect

Young actor August Markwardt in Theaterwork's production of The Tempest.
The Tempest was the Company of Poets first co-production.

I met with Theaterwork Director David Olson the other day to rehearse and determine a direction for the poems I will be performing at our "poetry performance" on April 20th, and as a follow-up to some play performances. 

It is wonderful to work with someone who appreciates poetry as much as David does, but also someone who "hears" language in such a visual way. For a theater director, language "lifts" in places; it expands and contracts. It moves into the room, and in doing so, pulls the audience along. 

David has a tough eye for nervous jitters that will distract an audience. The fluttering fingertips, the foot maneuvers, the moments words drop off. He has no tolerance for the sing-songy style some poets read in these days. 

There is, and should be, power to the words we are speaking. When we distract, the audience member loses - and if he or she loses even one word, one precious word -- the poem is less. It is uneven, an important part has been taken from it.

 Even if you aren't an actor, there are ways to begin to learn a style that grabs the audience member, grips them, captivates them, makes them each feel that you are talking directly, specifically, to them. It is this that we, as poets, need to strive for - making our words do what we intend of them.