We'll be looking today at various examples of poetry, some of which is designed for the page, and some of which is designed for performance. Of course, these two genres have some overlap - page poems can be read aloud, for instance at book launches, and performance pieces can be written down and occasionally reach publication. Yet there are some features of each genre that cater either to display or delivery.
Exercise 1: Mindmapping Page and Performance
Breaking into two groups, we mindmapped our ideas surrounding either page or performance poetry, with the following prompts to guide our thinking:
- poem features
- subject matter
- location
- recipient
- common preconceptions
- pros/cons
We then fed back our ideas, which stimulated a productive discussion. The mindmaps created during this exercise are below.
Exercise 2: Insomnia
We took the block text of the poem 'Insomnia' by Kevin Mclean (see below). After reading it through, we rewrote this poem either as a page poem (with consideration of layout, formatting), or a performance poem (adding in stage directions which informed vocal/physical delivery and accompanying effects).
Block text of 'Insomnia' by Kevin Mclean:
Good morning Good afternoon Good evening I guess it all depends how long you’ve been awake My watch calls it 36 minutes past the 42nd hour and I think I’m just about to get my second wind… Speaking of wind! Did you know that the windiest place in the world is the George V Coast of Antarctica where Wikipedia reliably informs me winds can reach speeds of 350Km/h, this of course pales into insignificance when compared with the speed with which my brain will go off on a tangent due to a lack of sleep I AM TIRED but I can’t rest. An adult human brain works best after eight hours of peaceful slumber if only my nightly diet of every TV show EVER made and Tumblr had the same effect But hey! We all love Doctor Who/Sherlock crossover gifs and passive aggressive comments about getting some sleep from Netflix What was I talking about? His brain has begun to phase in and out as he attempts to perform on stage. His sleep-starved psyche tries frantically to remain focussed on the task at hand. He mumbles a curse as he realises he has begun to narrate his own life out loud in the third person… Fuck I’m tired but I can’t rest. I was eight years old when the nightmares started. I would lie in bed in a room endlessly expanding, a voice would boom with an accent made of thunder and stone and I would have to clutch the quilted sides of my make-shift ship and ride the black void wake till I would awake and feel my body ache from the ripples So now he spent his time day dreaming about mornings when I would fall back into reality I’m tired but I can’t rest screaming, because at least when you wake in a cold sweat you know you have achieved escape…But with all that extra time you must get so much done! List of accomplished tasks since last sleeping 36 hours ago: 1. After three minutes of staring finally found the comma key b) Visited 2 rooms 4. I’m tired but I can’t rest. 1. After three minutes of staring finally found the comma key 2. Created list of accomplished tasks AND IT’S JUST NOT RIGHT ENOUGH CAN’T WRITE ENOUGH Bruises appeared don’t know how from (maybe they came when I’m about to fall) I’m tired but I can’t rest Can’t remember the lyrics to my favourite songs I’m tired but I can’t rest DON’T DARE DRIVE can’t tired but I rest should everything be so brightly written tired can’t rest so much dust tired can’t rest tired can’t rest can’t rest can’t rest can’t can’t rest
We then fed back to the group, noting whether there were any parts of the poem which invited intervention, and whether these were the same for page as for performance. We then looked at the poem as it is printed in Mclean's book 'Learn to Fly' (below), and saw a video of it performed by the poet at Edinburgh Fringe. Finally, we discussed how many features we had managed to preempt or predict.
See 'Insomnia', as performed by Mclean by clicking here.
Further examples
We then read through and discussed the following examples of page poems, which would certainly lose something when read aloud (click on the link to see/read):
- 'Message Clear' by Edwin Morgan - a dissolve/resolve poem, an extreme example of a page poem
- 'Bilston Enamels' by Liz Berry - a concrete poem
- 'Edit Your Life Mantras' by Scarlett Ward - a redaction poem (you could also think about blackout poetry)
and performance poems which would lose something if transcribed (click on the links to hear/watch):
- 'Prosthetics' by Hannah Silva - a distorted sound piece, an extreme example of a performance poem
- 'An Elephant in the Room of my Heart', by Jack Crowe - a piece which utilises intonation/expression
- 'Raise Your Hand' by Jasmine Gardosi - a piece which involves audience interaction and physical action
Exercise 3: Women, Power, Protest
Inspired by the poems and performance pieces we had just looked at/listened to, we then went to the Women, Power, Protest gallery in BMAG to find some stimuli to begin creating a page and/or a performance poem. If both genres were attempted, these were done using the same artwork as the stimulus. Alternatively, work attempted in pairs saw one poet creating a page poem, and the other producing a performance piece based on the same artwork.
Below are links/pictures of some of the things that came up in discussion:
- Loud Poets
- Kev Out Loud
- An example of reverse poetry, which reveals a different message when read back-to-front (I don't think this was the one referenced during the session, which was for a charity - if anyone finds it, do let me know and I'll post a link!)
- Lemn Sissay's graffiti poetry around Manchester (below)
- Hannah Silva's explanation of 'Prosthetics', with the lines she uses in the piece
- Hannah Silva and Tomomi Adachi performing their sound poem, 'Pluto is a Planet!' (pictured below)
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