Hi everyone,
someone pointed out that this site promotes performance poetry and often the discussions stray away from the original topic.
It sparked a thought of the varied opinions about what the definition of ''performance poetry'' actually is.
eg 1) Can the fact that people read their poems out loud allow it to be described as performance, regardless of type of venue, pub, library, etc.. ?

2) Does a 'performance poem' have a different agenda to one written for the page?

Opinion and thoughts please.
Discuss.

I guess you can perform just about any poem Janet. The question is - will your audience enjoy, understand or appreciate it?
For me performance poetry has to engage the listener by touching them in some way through either humour or emotion. Though political poetry isn't my bag, I can see that many people are aroused by it so I guess it may make good performance poetry also.
Poetry that is very deep and subtle perhaps doesn't transfer too well to the stage because you have to read and reread to get the meaning and to fully appreciate the crafting - you would lose so much of that on stage.
By contrast, poetry that isn't really brilliant, can sound great after a couple of pints of beer - especially if it is delivered well and easy to understand.
Everyone's taste in poetry is as different as the poetry they write - thankfully - else it would be a very boring site indeed...That being said, what I look for in performance poetry might be very different to other poets. Am I making sense?

I agree with Isobel, performance poetry has to be quickly understood and easily followed. But well polished and presented by reading or better still performed from memory.
But we also have to consider the beginner as well as experienced poets and the atmosphere during the session can add or detract to any performance.

The term confused me too. I have concluded that it encompasses any form of verbal publishing. For me, the first necessity of reading or reciting poetry is clarity of delivery. I cannot tell whether a poem is good, bad or indifferent if I have been unable to hear it, whether through poor diction or voice volume. Shouting is as bad, or worse, than whispering.

No one needs theatrical training, but practicing the reading in front of a mirror would be a good thing. Performance is a presentation, after all, no longer just personal, but personality as well.

In addition, there must be a clear line of thought, with sharp ideas and pointed imagery, enough to engage your audience's emotions aurally, and yet not so excessive as to allow the listeners to lose track of what has been already spoken. Just an expansion of the prior excellent comments.

Yes, subtlety is usually a waste of time in performance poetry: the words move too fast and the attention span is too short. Good performers can elicit magic out of poetry in the subjective subtleties of their interpretations, of course, but that is not the same thing.

I've often wondered if the term ''performance poetry'' puts people off attending and reading their own work because they don't consider their poetry is as a performance piece.

Quickly understood, easily followed, well polished and better still when performed from memory does it for me too.

I'm not a fan of political poetry either and that's a personal opinion i share with Isobel but even that when performed well can be the difference between a professional performance and one which we might enjoy the subject but isn't delivered as well as it could be by emphasis and pause in the right places.

There has been many times after a gig when reflecting on the evenings entertainment when i haven't been able to recall a single word of some of the poets work, it got lost somewhere in the ether of the venue, missing the target audience.
When i've asked others there did they recall it, they too have experienced the same. If i could go on to read that work it might make a huge impression which brings me to Cynthias point of the use of too much metaphor which requires a deeper train of thought than a few minutes of a performance can produce.

I'm aware that newcomers to reading/performing poetry will most likely be nervous and not give a polished performance which will affect the impact on any audience which is where encouragement comes into it from the more experienced.
Is it not better then that the newcomers experience reading their work in a more relaxed environment such as a ''read around'' to get the feel of it?
Yes i know it is a matter of personal choice but it is relevant to the discussion and maybe the newcomers thoughts as well as professional performers of poetry will join in, giving us a range of ideas and perhaps some inspiration for our next poem for performance purposes.

I must chip in here with my surprise over the amount of negativity toward 'political poetry'. The reason I am surprised is because I can pluck from the air several poets who's work is political in nature and are without doubt some of the best I've come across.

In fact if poetry was ever to change something meaningful to society it is likely to be a poem of a political nature....so why the dislike?

Don't be offended Martin - we are merely expressing personal opinion. Why does anyone like one thing more than another? If I want to hear about politics, I will listen to the news or read someone's manifesto. When I read or listen to poetry, I don't on the whole want to feel angry - I want to be touched, moved, intrigued or made to laugh. If a hundred political poets were to log on to this discussion and say they hated the things I liked, it wouldn't bother me - cos it's just personal taste. There is an obvious market for political poetry as I can think of at least one poet who has done rather well in the slams - and he is extremely clever and well deserved it...It just isn't the poetry of my preference.

p.s. I don't think you could ever change anything with a poem because not enough people would read or understand it - you'd have to go into politics to do that.

Hi Martin,
my own views are very similar to Isobels.
I suppose there are politics in almost every subject so in that context perhaps the politics in some poetry might make a difference in the world. However our personal views on world politics and government politics are personal and i for one dislike listening to one individuals rantings. I know it can also produce funny poems which for me is more acceptable in a ''friendly social atmosphere'' which to my mind is what performance poetry is supposed to be about.

Again it is only my own personal viewpoint which is the reason i started the discussion, to find out what others thoughts are as to what performance poetry means.

Your post tells me that in your opinion, performance poetry could 'change the world in some profound way.'
Please correct me if i'm wrong but if that's what the true definition is, i'm in the wrong place.

Please define 'political'.

Okay maybe I should clarify.

The point I was making is that poetry, a truely great poem can have an effect on someone. Whether that means making them think of just how great it is to be in love, remembering a life lost and vowing to make a little change, or just turning one person's thoughts to the lost and lonely on our streets. My point is that poetry can have an effect on people. As far as that goes I would say that what seem like 'small' changes can be just as profound as big ones.

Picking up on the post before this I would suggest that a lot more poetry is political than people first realise, after all it is almost impossible NOT to bump into something that is the result of our political system.

I make no bones about the fact that my own work is mediocre and that I have no intention of doing anything quite as ambitious as changing the world, however great literature CAN change people. Regardless of how big or small a change it is. I'm fairly sure that each of you reading this can thing of at least one great artist (be that writer, poet, actor, singer, painter) who has provided a window and a viewpoint into something that has had a profound effect on some people. Therefore, I have a strong belief that poetry has the ability to be very much the same. It is very well us patting ourselves on the back and looking to those poets 'pushing the boundaries' but without great poets who's writing can have an effect on someone....well I fear the genre of writing is doomed.

Finally I pose this question....to those who do not like political poetry, have you ever enjoyed anything based on or written by Dickens? He is perhaps one of the greatest writers who showed that a great piece of literature can do more than just entertain, it can show people things they would not hav been shown otherwise.

In short politics is inescapable, and whilst I understand and respect the fact that people may not like poetry that talks about what they see as 'politics' that does not mean I will not fight it's corner. More than any other pieces I find that what is termed 'political poetry' has more derision dumped upon it, which I feel is a great shame.

I think we get the gist now of the political aspects of performance poetry.
So does that mean the definition of performance poetry is
'' anything which produces an effect on the audience regardless of the content just as long it is a poem .'' ?

Yes Martin - I would agree that there are grey areas with political poetry where it blends more into social comment. I did enjoy a number of the poems about political sleaze and the expenses row. I tend not to like the ones that gun for one particular leader or party - those are personal views and I, like Janet, prefer to come to my own conclusions and not be led.
Thank you for bringing us all back to the original discussion, Janet - perhaps you should be leader of the house of commons...
To recap my thoughts. Any poetry can be performed. 'Good' performance poetry will engage the audience so it needs to be tailored to that particular audience. I would never choose to read the same material at Sale Art Gallery as I would at the Tudor in Wigan. Some venues and audiences require more sophisticated poetry - in fact I'm not sure I'd have much in my portfolio LOL - I do have a taste for the base and love the freedom a more relaxed venue gives. Am I making sense? There is no precise definition of performance poetry - you just need to use your discretion when looking at your audience.

Okay, I didn't not mean to hi-jack the topic with the sideline of politically natured poems so I apologise for that.

Personally, I feel that like 'poetry' the word 'performance' can be defined very widely. If we were to look at comedy there are many types of performances. You can have the tremendous physical comedy of John Cleese or the marvelous facial expressions of Hugh Dennis, or any mix of hundreds of different styles.

I have myself, acted, sung, read poetry and rather embarssingly attempted some other forms of entertainment. The common thing I have picked up is that each performer has their influences and portrays things in different ways. Even the same piece of writing can be performed in different ways....Brain Cox's Hanibal Lector Vs. Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lector. Of course you always get people who attempt to tell you to do this or that or the other because it works for them and sometimes it can help....other times it doesn't.

My point is this performance can be broadly described as entertaining an audience. There are a multitude of ways to do this. Find a style that works in front of the audiences you play to most often.

"I agree with Isobel, performance poetry has to be quickly understood and easily followed."

Hmmmm - I wonder if you also say that all theatre has to be quickly understood and easily followed. So what does that mean for anyone who likes the plays of Tom Stoppard? Or Shakespeare for that matter?

Seems to me that most performance poetry has small ambitions. Not that there is anything wrong with entertaining an audience, but I think there should be something more to it than just making people laugh.

Sometimes, the venue doesn't exactly help. A rowdy pub is not the ideal place for contemplation. Whereas a quieter venue allows for something more reflective.

I think you are taking Val's comment out of context there Steven and in essence I think we all agree. I am not suggesting that poetry should be dumbed down for performance - just tailored to the audience and venue. In a rowdy pub, more subtle poetry where you have to really think will be lost. That doesn't mean to say that 'pub poetry' or comedic poetry should be undermined or undervalued, particularly if it is taking poetry to people who might not otherwise have enjoyed it. Clever sophisticated poetry will always have its rightful place at the top and will continue to be enjoyed whether in theatre or on a more up market stage...
Too much of either to me is like a chocolate fountain - yukky and overload so let's hear it for all types of poetry and not get too hung up about whether it performs well.

Could I just add that people can 'choose' which venue they attend and if the rowdy pub scene isn't for them there are so many other places poetry can be heard.
Performance poetry like other forms of poetry has different levels of expertise and talent. Some performance poets that I have heard are also totally brilliant on paper and their poems make the leap either way. Other poets aren't quite as good on paper but wing it on a stage because they entertain and what is so wrong with that? More relaxed venues, where anything goes, take away some of the elitism attached to the artform and encourage people who might not think of posting on a site like this, to have a go.
Like all the discussions on this site - it all boils down to horses for courses and the need for an open mind.

I'm still very new to performance poetry. But, ideally, I do think a participating poet should have a selection of his/her work in hand, ready to perform chosen pieces only after making a calculated assessment of the audience. Judging appearances is dicey; but 'gut feeling' can be quite reliable. Still, overthrowing reason and deliberately taking a chance can be quite invigorating and can win surprising support. Of course, if you bomb, you then have to be tough enough to take the flack too.

I would agree with you Cynthia - let us not be too patronising when assessing our audience - you can never judge a book by its cover, nor would any audience want to hear too much of the same thing. It is good to have a balanced portfolio - the serious and the not so because at the end of the day or the evening - we all like to listen to a range of styles and topics.

I am new to all this performance poetry lark, I have been "in the closet" for years (not literally) regarding writing poems and i ventured by accident onto a local website www.thisisull.com and there was an advert for the first "Write to Speak" gig at the Hull Truck. I thought in for a penny (a fiver in actual fact). I expected a very straight and high brow performance...boy was I wrong. There where 3 local performers "Mandi Lowe" "Joe Hakim" and "Mike Watts" who blew me away with regards to expectations. Mandi was sensational, Joe really worked the crowd like a hypnotist and Mike has areally energetic delivery and the power of the work is immense. If anyone is near Hull on the 15th July and you have a fiver spare this is a must see event. Its the third and growing in popularity. Performance poetry is somthing that has really smashed my conceptions of what poetry was about when I penned my first verse.

Steve
I disagree with your idea that 'performance poetry has small ambitions'.
Some of us can only do performance poetry.
I sit and read what I suppose you may call 'pure' poetry and realise I can't do that. So as someone once said to me.... Isobel I think...stick to your strengths. So I do.
That to me is not a small ambition. It's what I do. And even if my performances are is shit, mediocre or brilliant, I'm enjoying myself. Allow us beginners a chance. One day we may write something worthy of putting on this site.

Well said Baz.
I think i'm in the same place as you here.
I'm not ready and don't know if i ever will be to attempt what some people rate as being good page poetry. I write with simplicity and often there's another concept hidden in the text which some will see and realize and others will not but the ones that don't still understand the obvious. Does that make sense?

When i agreed with Val and Isobel that performance poetry has to be quickly understood etc... we meant for the impact on audience for instant audience reaction. Surely the performance by the poet is just as important to its meaning as are the words within the poem?
eg. I don't know if Cain White has ever had first hand experience with domestic violence but i watched him perform a poem containing the effects of the topic on a child. His stance and delivery affected me deeply. A strong subject and not funny.

So i'm not saying every performance should be humorous to be enjoyed. When i started the topic i wanted to gain some idea of what is expected from a performance poem and if something is ' more suitable to the page', how does the delivery of it become memorable rather than lost because it is too deep for the audience to fully understand it's meaning and the power within the text?

I do understand that the venue can make a difference to what someone will perform from their portfolio.
There are a few people i know who will not perform their poetry because they feel it is more suited to the page. So should performance poetry be more simplistic?
and if not, then how can it be performed to best effect?

Janet.

I agree Janet.
I also write simplistically because thats all I can do. I also agree with you that performance poetry should be quickly understood.
I would love to be able to write pomes as others do, but the simple fact is I can't. .....Yet. Simply again, the nice thing about poetry nights, is that I've met some very nice people. That'll do for me.
x

Baz, in an earlier comment you wrote ''one day we might write something worthy of this site.''
Well seeing as you only write performance poetry and this is a site which encourages and promotes performance poetry, then you already do write some things which are worthy of this site.

Baz / Janet - I agree and feel totally in tune with you both. Too often, in too many areas do people try to 'pigeon hole' what poetry should be. It should be this, it should be that, it should be the other. If you really listened to it all, you would never pick up a pen or try to do anything for fear of criticism and ridicule. The newest debate is whether it is right to have 'I' in poetry and I just can't be arsed to even post a comment - just more nails in the coffin of my poetry. Can't we just let people be, to develop in their own good time, when the change of wind dictates, rather than popular opinion.

The 'I' debate made me laugh too Izz.
I write the stuff so I'll put 'I' in if and when I like.
Also, knowing the stuff you {Isobel} do at the Tudor, and you would change it for the Sale Art Gallery, I suspect my stuff would go down quite badly there too.
What you say I take my bed scene there for a laugh and then get drunk? Or is that a bad idea?

Oh do Baz - I would love to see your bed scene at Sale - it would be hilarious - though we might be the only ones laughing! You'd have to have a lot of money to get drunk there too cos the bar prices are pretty steep - another reason to stick to the Tudor.

I don't necessarily think there is a world of difference between performance and page poetry. Some poems would suit either purpose just as well. I realise that poems can be written with the intention of falling specifically into either category, but a good "performer" can turn a page poem into a performance poem - say a voice like Richard Burton or Joanna Lumley for instance.

Most of us, I guess, see performance as simply reading a poem in front of an audience; a commendable and hopefully enjoyable pursuit hopefully for both performer and listeners. This, alongside reading poetry from the page, is and has been the tradition since travelling minstrels/troubadors etc.

I would like to see this formula both extended and expanded to encompass other means and styles of presenting poetry. I feel it's a great shame that some very good modern poetry out there is restricted to being heard in a noisy pub with often poor acoustics and a crackling microphone - simply someone standing on a stage reading - albeit with the aid of "fancy dress" and props etc.

Would you expect to go to an art gallery and view paintings/sculptures with dodgy lighting and lots of distractions? Or to a theatre where the acoustics were so awful you couldn't hear the actors? Or listen to a radio reading where there was the constant background chatter and clinking of glasses?

I feel that if we are to bring poetry to the wider audience it so richly deserves - and a public that are largely ignorant of, but would probably appreciate a new and more accesible approach to presenting poetry, we need to consider that presentation in a new light.

Recent coverage of poetry by the BBC has shown that there probably is a wider audience out there, and that poetry is not simply an art form consigned to libraries and dusty bookshelves. I, for one, enjoyed this enlightening approach to presentation - both of the work and the wider context of the lives of our celebrated poets.

Stay with me here for a moment. If, given unlimited time and finance, you could choose any method of presenting your work for public consumption, what would it be? The backroom of the pub? Street corner soapbox? Arts Centre? Library? Bookshop? Those are the usual venues and methods. In my experience our audience is limited to other performers and perhaps their friends, families and partners - not the wider world. But, if we could package that poetry in a different, more accessible and more familiar way, and with a more "complete" delivery and experience, what might the result be?

What if we could get, say, a Martin Jarvis or Susannah York to read our work? What if we could add a backdrop of appropriate film/music/dance to frame that work? What if it was presented (not necessarily by ourselves) on a big theatre stage with a screen backdrop and great acoustics? What if it was presented in that package on a DVD with accompanying text and notes for sale to the public, or for TV schedules? By working with other visual/acoustic/choreography artists we could possibly bring poetry to a wider and more accepting public - and drag it (maybe kicking and screaming!) out of that dingy pub backroom.

I feel that this type of potential collaboration between disparate sectors of the arts could have benefits for all - not least poets, poetry and its public image. Think in terms of DVD sales - perhaps as gifts - and not books (although there will always, I expect, be a certain market for the written word.) Think of "The Poetry Show" on a big stage of a London theatre - with all the attendant whistles, buzzers and bells. Think of how YOU would wish to see your works presented to engage the wider public.

OK, this is just me thinking out loud. But I do believe that there is a necessity to free poetry from the shackles imposed by Mr Caxton and embrace the possibilities we now have via the great variety of "new media" now available. I'm not a technical whizz-kid, but it's surely not impossible? What are your thoughts?

Regards,
A.E.

Some interesting thoughts in there Anthony. I'm not sure the average Joe Bloggs poet would ever get chosen to go on this video or DVD though - it would end up being the cream of the amateur poetry scene and the rest would end up slumming it somewhere - that is not to rubbish your idea - it would be great if anyone could get that opportunity - to have the time to get the delivery right, the background music right etc etc and if you were recording it you could always edit the bits you got wrong! Not sure I would want Susannah York reading mine - my poetry is for me alone - I just love the buzz of it - wherever I read.
If you are talking about taking poetry to a wider audience by putting it on video as an alternative to pubs, I'm not sure it would work. The live performance is more electric and you'd have to persuade those people to buy the video or dvd in the first place - perhaps if you gave them out free like the metro newspaper...
I don't wish to appear negative. I would welcome any new innovation - but for me it would have to sit alongside the pub venue. I must say - I do love the quirkiness and the cosiness of the pub - you have never experienced the Tudor Anthony - perhaps if you had, you might change your mind...

Mr Emmerson
I think YES I'd love to see Suzannah York perform my stuff. What a brilliant idea. I'm trying to think who else. I think Amanda Richardson.
I reckon some of us trainee poets could come alive with people like that.
Any of you think of anyone else?
Izz, I disagree with you re Suzannah York for one reason. I'm a bloke.

I have a poem which I wrote specifically to be performed by the art critic, Brian Sewell. I have tried to perform it in my voice but it doesn't work. It needs someone whose diction is cultured, if not positively plummy. I did get a fine performance poet (who was not burdened with my flat Mancunian vowels) to read it at an Inn Verse a couple of years ago, and that was great. But until I pluck up the courage to contact Mr Sewell, the poem is yet to live the life of its promise.

Here is the poem....if you are aware of Mr Sewell's dulcet tones, imagine his rendering of these words....my, it would be sweet!

In Dreams

In deep sleep I have floated over Paris
To the strains of one of Chopin’s Preludes
But however many times
I can summon the sublime
In dreams I always end up in the nude

On cold damp streets I’ve pressed my face to windows
Where a better class of person eats their food
From such parties I’m excluded
When unsuitably denuded
In dreams I always end up in the nude

Not all high street establishments disbar me
In these scenarios my reveries extrude
But it’s not easy doing Tesco
With one’s meat and veg al fresco
In dreams I always end up in the nude

Historical events unfold before me
Occasioned by my fancy and my mood
I have witnessed Hitler’s bloody rants
Resplendent in my nuddy pants
In dreams I always end up in the nude

The Arctic and Morocco have embraced me
I have travelled to the farthest latitudes
But these fantasies they’re farcical
When experienced bare arsical
In dreams I always end up in the nude

I find Anthony's ideas very appealing. Back in 1972 in Lancaster Uni we put on a show that was a mix of poetry and little acted scenes, with a light show, dance, live and recorded music, and a pre-filmed sequence of the dancers while they danced live and several of us read sequences of poetry timed with the dance.
This was all put together by David Ward, now (and for many years) running the Windows Project in Liverpool. The poetry was a framework of his own writing, with our contributions folded into it.
Of course at university you get access to a lot that is hard to come by outside, but with a bit of collaboration and hard practising, somewhere like Square Chapel might find a slot. (In Halifax)
It is wrong to think that 'only posh people get to be chosen' because any group can form a company and work together to produce a live performance. You can choose yourselves.
There is a lot of talent coming forward in the write out loud sessions. Nothing wrong with moving forward from performing a poem to collaborating to create a more mixed and practiced performance.

Siren,

I liked the poem - it's a dream I've had many times (alongside that of being able to fly - my favourite!) - anxiety I believe! And I could imagine Brian Sewell reading it.

Isobel,

I wasn't suggesting that this kind of "big-budget" presentation should replace readings in pubs etc, just as big stadium style rock concerts don't replace gigs by local bands at local venues, but rather as an advert for poetry in general. How many people regularly attend poetry readings/slams etc? I would wager it's a very low percentage of the population. How many people attend live theatre regularly? A slightly, but not an immensely higher percentage. How many people watch TV, go to the cinema or buy/rent DVDs? Virtually all of us. The point I was trying to make is that - as far as I am aware (and probably with some notable exceptions such as Dylan Thomas's Under Milkwood, if you count that as poetry, which I certainly do) poetry only exists in books or at pub type readings.

I'm not saying that all poetry would be appropriate for mass consumption; some of the more aesthetic, experimental and not-easily-grasped-at-one-sitting poetry certainly wouldn't. but good, popular, easily accessible poetry would, I'm sure, benefit from this 3D approach. This would, in turn, bring all poetry closer to the public by generating interest - a kind of "showcase" effect if you like. Please don't misunderstand me here, I'm not trying to blow my own trumpet, (my trumpet blowing is rubbish - and my trumpet's not much to write home about either!) but I would love the opportunity to present some of my work in this way - appropriate introductory music to set an atmosphere, a well-directed film to add visuals and an accomplished and preferably familiar voiceover to add that realism, intonation and authority which I know I lack.

Whether on a big stage, cinema screen or DVD for home consumption it would totally change the experience of poetry for most people - not just hearing or reading the words, but seeing a poet's total concept. After all, a screenplay is not intended to simply be read, but to be turned into a cinematic experience - why shouldn't it be the same for poetry? Yes there are the Hollywood blockbusters, but this hasn't killed off art-house cinema. There are many "modern" concepts of poetry, some that I embrace and others which do nothing for me, but either way they are still being presented in the same old format - books or open-mike type nights. I just feel that poetry needs to move forwards, for all of us who write, and as an experience for all of that potential audience out there.

I don't want poetry to be an elitist, minority "pastime", but I see that unless it develops and broadens it's horizons in terms of presentation that's just where it will stay.

Imagine - a poetry "chart", just as there are for music, books, films etc - why not for poetry on DVD? Are we to remain the poor relation to all the other art forms? Shouldn't a top-notch popular poet expect to be able to get paid - well - for all those hours wracking his/her brain slaving over a smoking pen/keyboard? But just how many people buy poetry books, or would pay to attend a reading at say ten pounds a throw? Why not sell them a DVD they can play over and over again? Today's audience wants the quick-fix-all-inclusive package.

I feel very passionate about poetry as a worthy and largely neglected branch of the arts. There is some wonderful, inspiring, entertaining, educational, moving, witty, clever, thought-provoking, mind-blowing, eloquent, raging, beautiful poetry out there. If it stays simply in books or the back rooms of pubs a huge majority of the population will never get to read, hear, see or experience it. Isn't that a great shame - and a waste of talent and opportunity - as well as denying some worthy artists a commercial means to make a decent living?

I'm sure the pub/slam scene would survive whatever, but the "Hollywood" treatment might well bring a few more people to that scene too.

Regards,
A.E.

Siren - I LOVE your poem - very witty and clever and yes I can see why you might want Sewell's voice - though I wouldn't let your Mancunian accent put you off performing it - I would love to hear it with any accent.

Anthony - I am not disagreeing with you, particularly since you are letting me hang on to the pub poetry scene. It just all sounds a bit pie in the sky. The picture you have painted of poets being truly appreciated by a greater audience, selling DVDs, earning a decent living, being up there on a level pegging with other art forms, is a great one. In my heart of hearts, I'm just not sure that you'd get enough of an audience. Films and plays are longer blocks of work that transfer to DVD easily and hold the attention span cos of plot, ease of understanding... Music sells easily on DVD cos even if you don't hear the words you can tap your feet and use it for background. Poetry by its nature is shorter, more choppy. Is it something that the masses would want to play over and over? Unless it was funny, like a comedy DVD - I'm not so sure. I hate to be negative - cos yes like you, I do want more people to appreciate poetry. I guess all grand designs are rubbished in the early stages. How would you go about furthering this idea Anthony?

Mr. Emmerson, your concept is excellent, modern, and do-able. There is no reason at all why it wouldn't work, and work big. The really hilarious aspect is that the core idea is ancient, just updated with our century's technology. Go for it. The appetite for poetry is there as it has always been.

What is wrong with Sale's Art Gallery venue, may I ask? I will perform whatever I write anywhere I choose, and I will find a responsive audience wanting more.The beery-soaked pub mentality has got to give over from the smoky '30's and '60's. Ah ... that must be the 'snobby elitist' group I hear so much about - my way or no way. Whatever can be 'real' from an art gallery or a library? Are you lot serious!

Siren, you don't need another reader. What notion do you have that it would be better if sounding vowelistically posh? Do you think it would be more cuttingly funny as a 'posh put-down'? I think it would be quite comedic with a broad Mancunian delivery. Of course, if you didn't intend it to be funny .. oh dear.

I still would like to participate in an evening at the Tudor; it really sounds like a fun venue; goodness knows what I would wear for the occasion.

"Today's audience wants the quick-fix-all-inclusive package."

-----

'Twas ever thus, Anthony, and I don't think it's a good thing to just give people what they (think) they want. I like the idea of poetry DVD's, though, and can see certain performers doing well at that. (Bloodase Books have one, by the way...)

Hi Isobel,
I take all your points re my musings - it's just me thinking out loud I guess. The question you ask at the end of your post is a big one, and I wouldn't presume to have all the answers. As with any newish idea/concept for public consumption the marketing strategy is first to create a demand for the product. For this demand "awareness" is a prerequisite. For me awareness of poetry started in school, via enlightened and enthusiastic teachers. I'm not sure how much poetry happens in schools these days. I believe that poetry is important in expression and the development of creative language/thinking - after all what are nursery rhymes if not elementary poetry? We can all remember them easily, but how many of us ever thought of them as poems?

Poetry seems to be seeping almost unnoticed into the public consciousness these days - especially in advertising. The Ashes test series is currently being advertised via the BBC with this poem:

http://www.poetrybusiness.co.uk/index.php/poem-of-the-day

ON HAVING GIVEN UP CRICKET

I shall play cricket in heaven
in return for the afternoons
gladly given to the other
pleasure of others’ leisure.

I shall walk, without haste, to the wicket
and nod to the angels kitted
in their whites waiting to discern
the kind of batspirit I am.

And one stroke in heaven, one dream
of a cover drive will redeem
every meeting of bat
and ball I’ve done without.

And I’ll bowl too, come on to bowl
leg-breaks with such control
of flight and slight changes of pace
that one over will efface

the faint regret I now feel.
But best of all I shall field:
alert in the heavenly deep,
beyond the boundary of sleep.

- Michael Laskey, from 'Thinking of Happiness' (Peterloo, 1991)

A certain popular cider company is using (probably commercially written to order) poetry in its advertising,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7fKmx0Fhfk

Guinness has used poetry successfully over the years, and there are others. So it is already happening to a small degree. I thought about your point re watching a DVD over and over, and I have to say that I rarely, if ever, watch any DVD more than once anyway. However, I think I might be more likely to watch a poetry DVD more than once, just as I read a poem more than once to catch the nuances I might have missed at first sight.

There is perhaps an expanding market for poetry out there, due probably in no small part to books like "the Nation's Favourite . . ." series here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nations-Favourite-Poems-Griff-Jones/dp/0563387823

I know some will perhaps sneer at these as old-hat, but it is unlikely that a first-time reader will want to plunge straight into the esoteric depths of some of our more modern and challenging poets - but they have to start somewhere. If an organisation, such as the BBC, who are both commercially savvy (I hope) and minded to promote the arts, were to convert say some of our "Nation's Favourites" onto DVD with the Hollywood treatment, this may be a way in. They already have a fairly robust marketing/advertising structure in place for DVD sales and a worldwide reputation for quality productions. Given the right people on board it might be a possibility. I'm no expert in any of these fields, but is something that I feel is worth exploring and a product that I would be likely to buy, if not for myself, then certainly to give as a gift to those who might not go to a bookshop to buy a book on poetry, but who might just enjoy a less-formal introduction via DVD. I guess that all I'm really saying is that if I had the opportunity and technical ability to add suitable "visuals" to poetry I've posted on here via MP3 audio files I would. Not to swamp the words but purely to enhance them and give the reader/listener/viewer a more total concept of the ideas/mood/message I was trying to put across. Just like there is both radio and TV drama - it's not mutually exclusive, but I feel it's an area that poets have largely neglected.
Regards,
A.E.

I take your point Anthony. I am totally behind anything that gives poetry more prominence and commercialisation of poetry would certainly help. In the grand scheme of things I haven't read that much poetry but I do possess a copy of The Nation's Favourite Poems by Griff Rhyss Jones. It introduced me to poets I hadn't read before whilst giving me the comfort of being able to reread old favourites. I guess there is a child in all of us - familiarity is good. The same might apply to voices - package it with a celebrity voice and you might stand more chance of selling it - just so long as it's not mine that gets the voice over! LOL

Isobel x

For those of you that know my stuff, I want Boris Johnson to do it.
I can well imagine him doing my hat caper thingy