Category: Blog Post 6 (Page 2 of 2)

On October 31st, I attended the Fall Poetry Revel at the Newman Vertical Campus of Baruch College. The event was planned to be a free for all poetry exhibition, looking to give young poets an opportunity to share their work or perform resonating works of others. I arrived early for the event and was slightly disappointed by the lack of audience. I had a preconceived idea that people may not want to show up to a poetry event. However, as time passed, the flow of people increased and eventually the room was full of students and professors, intermingling, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. I realized that my preconceived ideas were based on my reluctance and lack of interest towards poetry. The lively and jubilant atmosphere made me realize that many people were excited about the idea of sharing their work while also appreciating works of others. As the event began, professor Kelly of the english department performed a six-part poem on zombie love. This unique and slightly unsettling poem set the foundation for the event. As much of the audience shuddered at the gruesome details of the poem, many also began to relax and felt more comfortable to share their poems. Once professor Kelly concluded her poem, she offered the floor to a new poet. At this point, the room went slightly silent, contrasting the jubilant claps at the conclusion of professor Kelly’s poem. A student from the back of the room braved the silence and walked to the front of the room.

The student who walked to the front of the room was a young girl named Kalani. As she introduced herself, she visibly tense and took several very audible breaths. Her demeanor displayed her desperation to draw any sort of confidence that she could. Kalani announced that she would be performing the poem “Daddy’s Little Girl”. She did not mention whether this was her own work or whether she was performing some poem which resonated with her. However, I soon came to the realization that Kalani was performing her own work. As she began reciting her poem, Kalani appeared to be trying very hard not to glance at the crowd which showed her shyness and anxiety in result of standing in front of a crowd. I assumed that was case however, I was quite wrong. As I listened to Kalani’s poem, I realized why she was uncomfortable. The poem was extremely emotional and personal. It was from Kalani’s account, talking to her father and telling him how she wished she could make him proud. Her poem poured out her inner thoughts and feelings which she could not possibly formulate into speech. As she continued reciting her poem, Kalani visibly became teary eyed and her voice began to crack. Her reluctance had turned into a very sad emotion as she continued to take audibly deep breaths in order to hold back her tears. By the end of her performance, Kalani’s entire demeanor had changed as she appeared moved and touched by her own poem and the audience mirrored the same feelings. As she walked back to the back of the room, the entire room broke into resounding applause.

After listening to several poets perform their poems, I found a stark difference between listening to someone else perform and reading silently to myself. Listening to others reciting their poems allowed me a look into the meaning behind their poems thanks to their emotions and body language. In contrast, had I read those poems on my own, I would not have understood the emotional stories and the feelings behind them. This also allowed me to understand the need for a true feeling and emotion behind every piece of writing. I witnessed how true feelings and emotions transformed the poems.

Overall, the Poetry Revel was a very interesting experience. I understood the importance of watching someone perform poetry and the different emotions and feelings such performances add to the overall message and interpretation of the poem.

This past Wednesday I attended Baruch College’s Fall Poetry Revel. The event featured a number of student and faculty readers reciting a variety of poems. Some of these works covered relationships, religion, and family. However, it was one student’s poem about intimacy between a man and a woman that truly caught my attention (this student did not share their name).

The poem, titled “She Loves When I Randomly Come Over,” focused on romantic interactions between a couple. The poem’s narrator was a man expressing the pleasure of making love to a female partner, along with how he perceives the woman to feel in this experience. The author performed their work quite well, giving character to the narrator. Their voice reflected an attitude of confidence, something of a sense of power over the female character. This effectively portrayed the female partner as someone who simply could not resist the male character. There was also joy in their tone, reflecting the sense of pleasure associated with such romantic moments. The confidence and joy fused together gave the poem more of a one-sided telling, that the pleasure truly exists in the male perspective.

Listening and experiencing the poem in person was very enriching. When reading quietly to one’s self you understand the message solely through your perspective, while when listening to it in person you interpret the meaning through how it is verbally delivered. The reader’s tone highly affects the way in which a poem may be interpreted. Giving voice to a poem adds perspective. The male character came more off as confident and powerful in the relationship through the degree of pleasure represented in his voice (perhaps a more appropriate title would have been “I Love When I Randomly Come Over”). The reader also spoke rather lowly too, reflecting the intimacy of the moments in the writing. Leaning against the wall demonstrated how lax he feels being with his love. It was somewhat odd listening to such graphic images being read aloud at a school event, but nevertheless demonstrated a well thought out work.

This experience granted me a whole new understanding of the craft of writing. Writers use words to not only develop story but also to evoke emotion. It wasn’t really the story the couple had but more so the feelings expressed in their intimacy. Very little was actually told regarding the background of the relationship, but more so the pleasure associated with being with each other. Although the narrator clearly values the female partner both emotionally and romantically, the words emphasized the act of the two having intercourse, the image of that and the resulting feelings. Writing is not solely about telling stories or creating messages, it is about creating images, evoking emotion, and attracting attention to subject matter. I did not expect such a topic to be covered at this event, but the work definitely stood out in comparison to the others in content. Overall, attending this reading was a very nice experience. This was my first actual reading event and I look forward to attending similar events in the future.

On Wednesday, October 31st, I attended the Fall Poetry Revel at Baruch College. The Poetry Revel was held on the 14th floor in room 270. By the time I arrived at the event all the tables and chairs were full, but I was still able to hear and see everything from the back row.  The event attracted a great gathering of Baruch students and professors who all share the same passion to share and listen to great works of poetry. The atmosphere of the room was very upbeat and inviting, and provided the students and professors a safe place to perform their poetic works. Professor Kelly works in the English department and  seemed to take charge of the event. I viewed Professor Kelly as the “host” of the Poetry Revel, who is in charge of starting off the event and introducing each performer to the “stage.” There were students and Professors who volunteered to perform a poem they have wrote for class, or a poem written by someone else. In the spirit of Halloween, a few students had taken it upon themselves to dress up for the occasion. Nevertheless, the performer I decided to draw my attention to as a spectator was Professor Kelly.

Professor Kelly welcomed everyone to the event and was the first individual to perform a poem. She was dressed in a professional composed outfit; she wore a floral print blazer, white bottom down shirt, and black pants. Before she began sharing the poem she composed, she stated that it is okay to be nervous and that she was nervous herself. The point she made had led me to look out for any cues that would reveal any nervousness she may be feeling like  hands shaking, stuttering of words, or absence of eye contact with the audience. The first poem she shared was inspired by the poet Mary Oliver and was  titled “Ombre.” She stood at the front center of the room and held a couple of sheets of paper in front of her. She stood tall with good posture and began reciting the words of the poem. The poem’s overall theme was about love, but she spoke at a fast pace, which made it a bit difficult to absorb all that words she was sharing. The way she said the words of the poem was in a calm tone and sounded the same way she may have a casual conversation with a friend. She never made any hand gestures or dramatic body language to emphasize a point like a few performers have. She stood grounded in her spot of the “stage” and would constantly look up and down from her paper to make eye contact with the audience. All the student performers after her would only stare into their phone or paper and read aloud. Professor Kelly would make sure to keeping looking up and down from her paper to enhance her performance and connect with the audience.

Professor Kelly finished with her first poem “Ombre” in a short amount of time since her poem was not long. She made some funny remarks and jokes to keep the audience engaged before she continued on to perform her second poem. The second poem was called “Zombie Love Poem” and was six-parts long. She wrote this lengthy poem in the spirit of Halloween and shared with the audience in advance that the poem’s language was gory. She went into her craft of writing with a theme in mind, and let her thoughts of Halloween work their way into writing. The poem included mythical creatures like zombies and vampires, and gross things like torn flesh and profuse amount of blood.  As she began reciting the poem, she stood in the same manner she had with the last poem. The soothing and tranquil tone she used for this poem did not match the gruesome and frightening language of her second poem. I would have expected her to speak in a more powerful and booming tone as opposed to the more casual tone she had performed the poem in. Despite the absence of dramatic body language, she was able to emphasize certain points of the poem by making dramatic pauses in between lines or slowing down to dramatize a point. For example, one moment that remains clear in my mind was when she said the words “sweet sweet flesh.” She was able to bring those words to life by saying those words slowly and looking point blank at the audience. As I stated earlier on, she said she was nervous, but her posture and composure did make that feeling evident. The only thing I can note was her hands shaking a little when she was holding the sheets of paper in front of her.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience as a spectator at the Baruch Poetry Revel, and I hope to attend other readings available in the future. I believe hearing a poem spoken out loud by a performer is so much more powerful than just reading a poem silently by yourself. Performers are able to bring the words to life with their voice and body language, which  undoubtedly helped augment the words of the poem.

I went to the Bellevue Literary Review, an “off the page” reading. It was the fifth year of them doing this reading. The reading was of the book Bon Voyage, Charlie at NYU Langone Hospital. It was given in the Schwartz Lecture Hall. I went with Rachel and Frieda. We entered the massive hospital, not knowing what to expect. Finding the room was no easy task. We walked through hallways and doors, and then we asked a security guard where the Schwartz Lecture Hall is. What we found out was that we have been walking in the totally wrong direction! We went through more doors following signs reading “BLR,” leading us to the room.

We finally found it! When we entered the room we were warmly greeted and given programs. We were offered food and water. We entered the Schwartz Lecture Hall . It was an auditorium. There was a stage and rows upon rows of swivel chairs attached to desks. We were asked to please sit in the front few rows. There was a man and woman sitting on the right side of the stage. A woman stood in the center of the stage in front of podium introducing the program.

I glanced over at the crowd to find that Frieda, Rachel, and I were the only ones under the age of 60. After the woman introduced our first reader, Ryan Duncan, we applauded, but she asked for us not to applaud. After that, the entire audience immediately quieted down. I opened up my program as Ryan made his way to the center of the stage. The program stated some facts about Ryan’s life, but one fact that stood out to me was that he was on Shrek on Broadway. I found this so interesting and was very excited to hear how he would read. He stood up, walked to the podium, and began to read. He read with a loud, booming voice. He seemed very relaxed and comfortable with what he was doing. His hand was in his pocket. He acted while he read, meaning if there was dialogue between characters he would change his voice to act like the character that was talking. He also incorporated the audience. If something was being said he would point at audience. It was like he was talking to us even though he wasn’t! He acknowledged that the audience was there. I liked that, because if someone is talking in front of me I like them to know that I am there. He read very differently from Michael Robbins. Michael was relaxed just like Ryan Duncan but in a different way. Michael read sort of monotone while Ryan read with enthusiasm and energy. The way Ryan read, we were all able to hear and understand him. I loved how he acted, and he would even change his voice into a different accents if needed! This definitely enhanced the reading. The work was not his own, but he read it as if it was. Maybe the fact that he wasn’t reading his own work, where as  Michael was, was what made their executions different. Overall Ryan Duncan read with a lot of passion. I really enjoyed it.

This past Monday, I attended a reading and author talk of the book “A Massacre in Mexico” at the New York Public Library on 42^nd St and 5^thAvenue at 6:30. After class, I headed on the train uptown and arrived here. The building itself was very grand as I discovered since the building takes up almost 3 blocks. I entered and security checked my bag upon entering and leaving as well.  The room was quite long but not too wide, and there were 2 sections of rows of chairs with an aisle separating them, and a little stage towards the front where the speakers were. The audience of this event consisted mostly of young adults but there were also some older people there as well.

Upon coming to this reading, I did not know anything about what massacre this book was referring to, but I actually learned a lot from this experience. The author of the book is from Mexico, and her name is Anabel Hernandez. She originally wrote this book in Spanish, and the other speaker, John Washington translated her book into English which he told us as he began the event.  Since it is a lengthy book telling a story of an event that occurred going into extreme depth about the underlying details of all aspects of this massacre, the majority of the event was less focused on reading parts of the book itself, and more focused on a discussion of the book. But, because they could not read the whole book, the author gave a quick but detailed summary of the book. Because she is from Mexico and Spanish was her first language, I found her English sometimes hard to understand, and when she said the names of places in Mexico she visited or Spanish names of people she encountered while writing, it sometimes threw me off because her Spanish accent overpowered the words for me since they were already unfamiliar to my ears. John Washington’s role in the event was to read certain parts of the book in which he wanted the author to elaborate on and tell us more about, which he did a wonderful job in bringing many great areas of the book to attention and into greater detail.

From what I was able to understand from attending this event without prior knowledge to the book is that this book is about the Tlatelolco Massacre which happened in October of 1968. The author of the book explained how she wrote it because she was a journalist and wanted to write about how corrupt the Mexican government was and the fact that they have gotten away with things like this massacre. She told us how the Mexican government and military has an extreme amount of power which allows them to get away with murder, including the kidnapping and killing of her own father. Because she had a strong motive to want to expose the Mexican authorities, she decided to find out what exactly happened for the military to to murder 43 innocent students. She told us about her experiences and how no witnesss wanted to speak to her because they were afraid of themselves being killed for telling her anything and how she had to gain the trust of people in order to get information. She told us how many journalists, including big time journalists, would not take on this story because of how fearful they were, but she felt it needed to be addressed.

This event opened my eyes to a massacre that I knew nothing about before, and exposed me to the corruption of the Mexican government that I never knew existed. Anabel Hernandez was extremely passionate in speaking of her experiences and reasoning for writing this book and it has persuaded me to read this book eventually because I would be interested in reading the story in full detail. Hernandez also gave me insight on the craft of writing as a journalist, and the fact that as a journalist, you do not just write, but also travel, interview people, research, and act as a detective in a way to put things together. I also feel that attending a book reading can be very helpful when reading something on a topic you aren’t familiar with, because you are able to ask questions about it during a Q/A session rather than be alone and confused. Additionally, one of the fathers of the 43 students murdered was actually in attendance and he had a translator thank all of us for coming and caring about the cause, which made me feel really happy I was there in a way to support the families of these students. Overall, I had a great experience at my first literary reading and discussion event, and I hope to attend more because I feel they are great ways to learn about things you have never knew about before and open your eyes to what has happened and is still happening in the world.

Attempting to navigate the hall of NYU Langone Hospital on a Tuesday evening at 5:45, I was there for last reason I would expect: to attend an “off the page” reading. The reading I attended was one of the biyearly readings of the Bellevue Literary Review (BLR). The BLR is a literary magazine that focuses on viewing human existence through the lens of illness, diseases, health, and healing. It is not a publication I was ever familiar with, but nonetheless as I opened the doors of what appeared to be a lecture hall I was excited to hear writers and poets perform their work.

As it turns out, it wasn’t the authors of the short stories and poems that recited their work, but rather performers hired by the BLR who recited the works. I didn’t notice this until I decided to open the program halfway through the first performance, after understanding this my perspective as an audience member was altered.

The first performance was the only short story recited at the reading. It was a story about about a man going to war who fell in love with a girl. The performer was reading off the paper half of the time and periodically looking at the crowd. To me, it seemed like it was a combination of the way a preschool teacher would read a book to her students and the way a professional actor would act out a scene. He did a very good job portraying the characters emotions. I  particularly enjoyed the accents he did to act out the characters. It made the story be authentic. His tone moved throughout the reading the reading, keeping the audience engaged. When he first began reading I thought I felt his connection the story he wrote, upon realizing that that wasn’t the case because he didn’t write the story I concluded that he is just a great performer.

There were pros and cons to hearing a short story read it out loud. A  pro is that it was kind of like watching a show, I feel like I really heard the characters. A  cons is that , maybe it’s a personal thing, I had a hard time following the story probably because it was read aloud. Personally, I can’t fully follow and internalize a story being read aloud, I always need a copy to read along with. I found myself getting lost and tuning him out for seconds at a time which led to confusion, no matter how much the performer tried to keep the audience engaged.

My favorite part of the reading was the poetry. Although it wasn’t slam poetry, which I love watching, it came close. The performer, this time a girl with a South American accent, recited the poetry almost by heart. I was really touched by the first poem she read “Eating Disorder” not only because of the topic but also because of the emotion she put into her performance.

All in all, attending this reading was a great experience. However, I’m really bothered by the fact that the authors and poets themselves did not perform their own works. It somehow felt a little less personal with performers reciting the works. After attending this reading, the next spoken word event I’ll be attending will definitely include slam poetry.