I guess the Poetry Cover Slam was a really big hit last week. I regret not being able to make it to class that night, due to a tennis match. After reading a bunch of blogs entries on the subject, and talking to some classmates, I heard that Carla's presentation was really stellar. I was told that she memorized her poetry, and performed it to the class. I feel that that is an excellent way to interpret something, because whenever you are reading off of a piece of paper, you are restricting yourself to how you can come in contact with your classmates. You can put more emotion into it, make more eye contact with people, etc. I'm experienced with memorizing, being a music major, and have memorized various pieces for when I play piano for recitals, juries, and so on. Yeah, it might make you a little bit more nervous to get up there and have nothing to go on, but if you are really prepared, you can get into what you are doing so much more.
I think sharing poetry in class is rewarding expereince, since some people have an automatic bias against it and won't normally read it. Presenting it in front a class would allow people to realize that poetry can be fun, and not as hard to understand as some may think. I'm sorry that I missed it last week! :(
Posted by MeghanKite at April 20, 2004 08:05 PM