Poetry Revel at Baruch College

On Wednesday, October 31, I attended along with many of my peers the 2018 Fall Student Poetry Revel held on the 14th floor at Baruch College. The poetry reading began a little past 3 pm, and although I have never attended a literary reading in the past, I am thankful that I was able to attend my first performance. This thoughtful event sponsored by the english department not only gave Baruch students a way to join together to celebrate Halloween with candy and pizza, but also allowed for students to express themselves by reading their own poems or other poems of their choice.

Rahul performing “If god is Real” by Bri Mar

After listening to many readers and observing many performances by both professors and Baruch students, one performance stood out to me the most. This impressive performance was presented by a Baruch student named Rahul in a way that really brought the poem to life. Rahul started off by introducing himself and the poem which was titled “If god Is Real” and was written by Bri Mar.

Although many other students would get right into their readings of poems, Rahul gave a brief introduction to his performance, warning spectators that the poem may be controversial before he began reading. At first, I saw this warning as a simple defense to avoid angering anyone. However, as he was reading I noted that this warning actually told me something about his personality. It showed me that Rahul is shy and somewhat fearful, and his performance would reflect upon this fact.

Rahul read the poem slouched with one leg back and was looking down at his phone the whole time, making little eye contact with the crowd. In addition, he used both of his hands to hold his phone while reading, suggesting that he had a tight grip over his phone. All of this affected his performance overall by indicating a sort of insecurity he felt while reading. During his performance, he would not dramatize his reading, instead he would read in a monotoned and shallow voice. However, in his timid voice one could hear his shaking, indicating a sort of nervousness or even a possible fear he was facing. Although this could be seen as just Rahul having a fear of pubic speaking, I think this manifestation of fear and insecurity has a deeper meaning especially in this case of what the poem is opposing. As the poem’s title indicates, this poem questions the existence of a greater power. Rahul’s fearful attitude ingeniously conveys the ideas expressed in the poem of how scary it can be to doubt the existence of a greater being whose powers are unknown, essentially bringing the words to life.

As a spectator who has never attended a reading before this event, I noticed that listening to poetry in a public setting greatly differs from quietly reading to myself. A notable difference is that when read aloud, I tend to focus less on the words of the poem and more on the presentation, which in itself can directly influence the meaning of the poem that different spectators get out of the reading.

I am glad that I had the unique opportunity to attend Baruch’s poetry revel because it has opened my mind to how different poetry could be experienced when performed out loud by others, essentially bringing it to life, and making me want to attend more readings in the near future.