Robert Peake » Performance Poetry

Suzanne Lummis and Lynn Emanuel at the Ruskin

Robert Peake — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 09:03:31 +0000

I made my way back in to Los Angeles tonight to hear Suzanne Lummis and Lynn Emanuel read at The Ruskin Art Club. Suzanne is always endearingly self-effacing and charming. She also really knows how to engage with an audience. Strangely, many have labeled her a performance poet for this reason when, in fact, I think she simply embodies all the right elements of an outstanding straight-up reading. She connects with each line of the poem, brings life to it without seeming artificial–all through her voice, each word clearly expressed but not curt or strained. She simply reads poems very well.

And what poems–an abundance of new work in her signature noir yet self-aware style. She seduces an audience into thinking they are getting entertainment–often with moments of humor, irony, and wit–but in the end her work always delivers art. She also read some timeless mainstays from her book In Danger. I am glad Val, who came with me, got to finally hear them. And I’m glad, of course, she came with me and made the ninety minute drive each way a stimulating delight.

Lynn Emanuel also read some of her most well-known works, including “White Dress” and “Blonde Bombshell”, which apparently Garrison Keillor has read in honor of Marilyn Monroe’s birthday. Her other work, from her newest book, is a significant departure from these more accessible poems with broad appeal. She attempts to investigate the relationship between reader and writer, between aspects of the mind and emotions, in dark, spare, strange, metapoetic works.

I finally got to learn about and experience a bit of the venerable Ruskin Art Club, which is reviving itself as a champion of the arts in Los Angeles. After the reading, I met up with two of my former classmates from Suzanne’s master class. It’s been about four years. Kathleen Tyler has just published his first book of poems, The Secret Box, and Jawanza Dumisani is circulating his second book to a select few publishers. He introduced me to a young poet who won a scholarship from The World Stage to study with Suzanne. It was heartening to hear that Jawanza is still hosting the writers workshop there each week, in the heart of the city, working to support the community and to provide opportunities for promising young poets.

We made our way home through considerable fog. It seems autumn has arrived in Southern California.

The Invitation-Only Party That Is Poetry Today

Robert Peake — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 05:14:51 +0000

Thanks to dumbfoundry for pointing out this excellent article on the sad state of elitism into which poetry has sunk today. It’s a pithy little piece that plays fast and loose with history, but it is the closest hammer I’ve yet seen to hitting the nail on the head. My wife Valerie dedicated her life to an art form equally plagued with the same quandary of elitism that causes it to be marginalized: classical music. Such elitism in both worlds presents a double bind: write (or compose) in an accessible way, and you are considered a traitor and booted from the inner circle of intelligentsia with the words “pop culture” taped to your back; yet at the same time neither art in its current state can thrive. Record sales plummet; interest in contemporary poetics has been in a tailspin for decades. It takes great courage to face the insecure mob of postmodern aesthetes that currently have a stranglehold on certain strata of po-biz on one hand, and the star struck pop culture performance poetry lovers on the other hand–to stay a true course toward meaningful art. Perhaps now more than any other time has the challenge of artistic integrity presented itself so forcefully in the medium of poetry. Yet now more than ever are those alienated from poetry deep down desperate for the kind of meaningful experience that a poem written with both the heart and mind, fully engaged, can provide.

Reading Poems Well

Robert Peake — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 00:08:14 +0000

Ted Burke has an interesting rant on a subject dear to my heart: that far too many poems are read poorly. Yet he points out that phenomena like the “Def Poetry Jam” are not necessarily the antidote. I would go further: I feel that performance poetry and poetry slams often undermine the work of poets trying to write something that also stands up on the page.
The idea that poetry needs to be “jazzed up” (sometimes literally–with musical accompaniment) implies some fundamental deficiency with the words standing on their own merits. Yet at the same time, I think this phenomenon of so many good people reading good works badly is equally to blame: it reinforces, and spurs on, the hyperbolic performance of poetry, which distorts the art–making it more like song lyrics or a dramatic script than a publication-worthy piece.

Like my sister, I recently had the privilege of attending a voice workshop with Tom Boyer wherein I discovered many of the techniques of the Bel Canto school of Italian singing apply equally well to spoken voice. Applying this has had a great effect on my reading style: it allows me to tap in to my most interesting, authentic voice–the one I use when hanging out with my family on Christmas morning–even when I’m on stage. Through applying breathing and visualization exercises, I have learned to key in to that space, and bring more of myself to reading my work.

Apart from voice coaching lessons (contact me if you’d like to get in touch with Tom), there is another simple remedy for reading better: connect with the poem, with the words, with the meanings. Enjoy reading a poem–you don’t have to sing or flap your arms, but you do have to bring out your enjoyment and appreciation of the work. Savor it. Bring some justice to it–especially if it is your own work.

It can be hard to connect with the enjoyment of the poem and bring that across to an audience if you are not comfortable speaking in front of a group. Much of that seems to subside with practice–but it takes conscious practice, trying each time to get more in touch with the heart of the piece. Reading in a relaxed atmosphere among friends also helps. Ultimately, practicing the same things that don’t work over and over will not help, and may hinder–so, seek to consciously gauge and improve your own sense of connecting to the poem each time. For me, there has been a palpable difference through practicing this approach.