At some events Rotten Poetry provides entertainment in form of live music or poetry. We try to maintain a varied mix in performances scheduling poetry alongside music.
The Challenge of Poetry
My experience at these events is that poetry is an extremely challenging medium for performance. For the poets themselves it is daunting to be so exposed. There is no music or instrumentation to hide amongst, just the poet’s voice. But, also, I believe, the audience find poetry very challenging to listen to. I believe a lot of people often do not know how to respond to poetry performed, they understand when watching music one can nod or bob along to the rhythm, listen for tune and sing along to lyrics, but they feel uncomfortable with how they should listen to poetry.
I previously expressed this feeling to Tyler Turner, a poet who we have worked with multiple times, after her first performance with us. Tyler expressed that this is why poetry is ‘punk’ and poets, rebels: it challenges the audience more than music often does, it pushes the audience to think deeper and often makes them a little uncomfortable.
Many of the poets who have performed for us tackle challenging topics; feminism, class, disability, wealth; and often in deeper and more overt ways than punk or political music does. The audience is forced to listen to the words, and consider their meaning rather than taking refuge in tune or rhythm.
The Rotten Perspective
I have often found it difficult to put the poets alongside the musicians on stage at music festivals and events. I find myself doubting, struggling with the reception of the poets, knowing the audiences for the musicians will be bigger and those musicians will be more easyily and more widely accepted. I worry whether audiences will not engage with the poets and how the poets will feel about this. It is certainly the case that the crowds have been bigger for the musicians, but I am heartened by the poetry performances which have garnered a crowd, although not as large, often captivated.
All our poetry performers have had audience members who have been inspired, enraptured or enthralled by their performances. Audience members often talk to me later about a particular poet’s performances and how they inspired them or merely enjoyed them.
How to…
From my perspective listening to poets at these events: When listening to a poet read their poetry I often gaze away from the poets or anyone else (at our winter events we often have a fire, this is perfect to gaze into!) and allow my mind to absorb without too much focus. I try to notice little phrases and lines which jump out, sections of alliteration, rhyme or wordplay. Find the meter, the rhythm of the poetry, this can be easy in some poetry or very difficult in others. Don’t concentrate on taking in every word and phrase, accept the atmosphere and allow the mood of the poem to lead, with the individual words and phrases punctuating the whole. Don’t worry if it makes you a little uncomfortable (that may be its writer’s intention), don’t worry if you don’t ‘get it’. How does it make you feel? What images did it conjure? What does it make you think about next?
Performance poetry is a tough sell. Especially perhaps when it is put up against music performances at a mixed event. But it is important to expose this medium to greater attention and important to expose audiences to a greater breadth of medium.
Rotten Poetry will be presenting more performers in 2024 at Bolsover Castle Community Arts Festival and Whitwell Festival of Music.
Many of the poets who have performed for us are featured in our collection, Eclecticism
Please have a look at some of our fabulous previous performers:
Cathi Rae, Tyler Turner, Richard C Bower, Charlotte Lunn, Luke Atlas, Wesley Thomas Gee,
Squat Lobster, Elm Tee Row, Dan Catchpole of 5 Points, Lily May, Paul Nose, Sam Tucker?, Ian and Katy of Kootch, Pete Drake,
Darren Ellis is a teacher, creative and owner of Rotten Poetry. He reads classic literature, fantasy, sci-fi, literary fiction and history.