I walked into the CUNY Graduate Center not knowing what to expect because I have never been to a poetry reading and did not know how a reading was structured. The reading started with an introduction and a description of the biographies of the poets that would be reading. Each poet had an impressive education and an intimidating amount of experience in the world of art and music. It surprised me that there was music incorporated into the performance because I thought it would just be poets reciting what they wrote. The music added a sense of excitement and went perfectly with the tone of each poem. The musicians were inspiring to watch, as they had perfected their craft and were able to compose and improvise music to go along with the poetry.
The first reading was done by Erica Hunt and Marty Ehrlich, a husband and wife who read poetry and played the saxophone/clarinet, respectively. Although the poetry written was inspired by a poet I wasn’t familiar with ( Césaire) I still found it compelling. A line that stuck out to me was “The candle always sputters on its way to light”. I thought it was inspiring and relatable. While the saxophone sometimes overpowered the sound of Erica’s voice I still enjoyed the way it faded back and forth from loud to soft. It was difficult for me to understand the influence Cesaire had over the poet because I haven’t read anything by him, but the way she talked about his poetry made me interested in finding out more. The next reading was done by Tracie Morris with an accompaniment on piano by her old professor Vijay Iyer. It was cool to witness two individuals who are close to Amiri Baraka in real life, interpret and discuss his influence on poetry. I noticed a lot of repetition in each of the poems as well as the use of sound effects which I know Amiri Baraka used in his poem Black Art. Lyrics were quoted in the poems such as “it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that”. I enjoyed the parts of the poem that were sung. I found myself paying a lot of attention to the intricate piano playing by Vijay and how it was able to lead the poetry to another level.
At the end of the poetry reading there was a series of questions asked to the poets. They spoke highly of each other and of Amiri Baraka which really showed the close relationship they shared because of poetry and art in general. I liked hearing about their experiences with Baraka and how he influenced them as well as how they went about collaborating with each other. I also heard references to the topic of my final paper which is activism and how Baraka and Ginsberg were a part of that movement.Overall, it was an enjoyable experience that showed me how rewarding it was for the poets to express themselves in an inviting atmosphere.
