this thursday, january 5, 6-8pm, at les petite versailles in the east village, i will be giving a reading. it is an outdoor art installation, which is heated and quite cozy i'm told.
anywhoo, i'm preparing my work, and reading the pieces aloud for my first timed reading (this is my standard practice before a reading).
it comes to me that the way i read my poems is not how they appear on the page.
the lightbulb finally flickers and illuminates, i need to make my work look like i read it.
i tell this brilliant idea to my poet friend jacque who is visiting from baton rouge, and she says,
i told you that last year.
:D
well, friends, i am nothing if not stubborn. she said,
you wouldn't listen.
i said,
i get it now.
she just shook her head. i changed the subject. fortunately the night provided many diversions.
so that is the first phase of revision for me, breaking lines and using space to convey to the reader how my works sound as i read them aloud.
change is slow, change is hard. but i am listening. even if it takes me a full year to see the merit of an argument, i don't claim to be speedy in how i apply what i hear, i only promise to listen. and someday, to change.
lucky me if you are sitting with me when i have that realization.
lucky me if you can say,
i told you that a year ago.
it proves that i have friends who accept my many flaws and trust the process with me. i am grateful for such a band of poets and ne'er do wells. though they're not such a bad bunch as all that.
2 comments:
Power to the poets :O , meaning the real poets such as yourself
sweet! thank you rakeem :D
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