Today’s seminar class was another day of poetry recitations.  I’m finding that I am really enjoying these days.  I like watching my classmates and hearing them put their own emotions and thoughts, and their own personal touches to each poem.  It was particularly enjoyable to hear one of my fellow classmates’ own personal poems…I’ve never been able to skillfully write a poem, although I have tried, so I really admired his talent and everything he put into the poem — the words, the meaning, and his presentation.  The presentation of his poem led to a discussion revolving around the art of presentation and performance.  You never truly realize how difficult it is to give a performance in front of an audience, whether you know the people in the audience or not, until it is your turn to get up on stage or in the front of the classroom and present your own work.  Not only is it nerve-wracking, there is much to take into consideration.  When giving a performance, you have to decide how you want to depict a certain character or how you want to present a poem or piece of writing.  You have to try and get into the mindset of the author who wrote piece you are presenting and read it with emotion, adding your own personality and flair to give an enjoying and captivating performance.  I personally have always admired people such as Broadway stars, actors and actresses, anybody who can confidently go on stage in front of a large audience, and dramatically portray a character and really give a performance.  When I sit and watch performers, I think about how much time must have gone into preparing for the show and I really appreciate their work and dedication.

The conversation in today’s class that was most enjoyable was that of the art of people-watching.  I have always enjoyed people-watching, whether I am at the mall, in the city, on public transportation, in the car, anywhere.  Whether it’s to pass the time or just to have fun, at some point in my life, people-watching turned into a game.  Because of this, the poems The Cab Driver’s Smile and Public Transportation really appealed to me.  I could definitely relate to the authors who were drawing a sketch of life around them, a sketch of the people who they saw on the streets of New York City.  As we discussed in class, you never really know what kind of life the people around you are leading.  There is a plethora of possibilities for why people look and act the way they do when you see them, wherever you see them.  It all comes full circle, in a way, to the teaching that you can’t judge people. Maybe the guy on the bus next to you really is a parish priest, even though he looks like a mugger.  What do we know?  I find this concept fascinating.  The fact that you can look at any one person and devise this whole life for them inside your head, which could be the complete opposite of who they really are…it’s just entertaining to think about.

I also want to say I really enjoyed the poems by Dorothy Parker.  Observation was my favorite, because it shows that she didn’t care what other people thought about her, as long as she was pleased with herself and how she was living her life.  I think that’s the best way to live.  From the background of her life that we heard from Dr. Kahan, about having a deadpan, no-nonsense personality, it seems to me that she lived her life the way she described living in the poem Observation.

I am definitely enjoying the class discussions that come about as a result of the poetry readings and I look forward to hearing the remaining poems on Monday.