There are poems which look good on paper, but don’t ‘work’ so well when read aloud. Even adding the ‘performance’ elements of gestures and body language they still don’t really escape from the confines of the page.
I was looking through some of my own stuff, with a view to attending an open mic evening and soon realised that some of them cry out to be performed live, others are more suited to a leisurely and private reading by the fireside.
I’ve been filtering them, working out what makes the difference.
For me at least ,the ‘performers’ tend to be the ones which make bold statements and slap people around the face. Anything too introspective doesn’t work so well.
Neither is inherently bad or better, but each triggers a different part in my brain.
I’ve recited many of my poems in public. I’ve written hundreds, most of them I’m really fond of, but when it came to choosing which ones I’d use I really struggled to find a few that were both read and recital friendly. And even those required edits to suit an audience. Actually, there was just one, I recited it at Tracy’s covid/online Colorado group poetry festival.
Actually, even that one needed a few minor edits, finished just minutes before I went live.
So yeah, even our best paper poems aren’t always (or ever) fit for all purposes.
Interesting. I just posted an old recording for Deb on the intro page as she expressed curiosity about my Saffa accent. A poem by Tracy. Maybe we could start with some recitals somewhere here, poetry should work when spoken.