Although I’ve never been to a formal poetry reading before, I found this event to be very interesting and enjoyable. I couldn’t stay the last half hour to watch Traci Morris and Vijay preform but I did watch Erica Hunt and Marty Ehrlich’s performance. First off, the venue really accentuated the poetry reading because the acoustics were balanced, the stage was not too far from the seats, and the lighting made you focus on who was speaking. In terms of the performance itself, it started out with Ehrlich playing the saxophone and the clarinet (I believe) as Hunt was reciting some poetry. At first I thought this was kind of distracting since I couldn’t really hear what Hunt was saying but then as time went on, I actually came to enjoy the music. It was a nice addition and really added an emotional aspect to the words that Hunt was speaking.
At certain parts of the reading, the poetry and the instrumentals reminded me a lot of rap music and I kept thinking about that for a while. The way that poems are spoken in rhythm and with a beat in the background made me realize that spoken poetry can become a song in itself. For my paper I did research on Amiri Baraka and in one interview he mentioned how poetry is a form of emotional and intellectual communication as well as an aesthetic and an art. After attending this poetry reading, I now understand and have experienced what Baraka was referring to. I’ve also learned that sometimes when poetry is recited verbally, it can even change the way you see or feel about the poem when you first read it.
