I went to a reading for poets Henry Weinfield, Dr. Orlando Ricardo Menes, and Mary Hawley, which was held as part of The Open Light conference. The venue was a conference room in McKenna Hall, and it was a small room with lots of rolling desk chairs lined up in rows. I was sitting a few rows from the front. The audience was mostly staff in the English department and English majors attending as a class requirement. At least, if every student around me was representative of the whole. This was the first poetry reading I have ever attened, so I didn't know exactly what to expect, and I still can't say if this reading is typical.
The first to read was Henry Wienfield, who read selections from his collection "Without Mythologies." He seems like the kind of person who thinks really hard about things all the time. His style is very academic, with a lot of focus on rhyme scheme and meter. His work really felt like something I would have to read for an English class and analyze all the devices he uses. You can tell that's how he approaches poetry, too. One of the poems he read was titled, "Dream-Poem in Blank Verse,." You could also tell from the way he read his own work that he was very concerned about the structure of the poem by his emphasis on the last word of the line, making it easier to pick up on the rhyme scheme.
To be completely honest, I lost interest in his poems rather quickly. It wasn't that they were bad by any means, but it was really hard to be engaged by them. Not only did he treat his own work so academically, but he also lacked a strong voice when reading his poems. He did not use his voice to reinforce the tone of what he was reading aloud, which I found very disengaging for his poems, which are actually quite emotive. It felt more like he was just kind of going through the motions, except when he was emphasizing the rhyme scheme. I personally found this very aggravating, because it felt like Weinfield wasn't trusting us to be able to pick up on it on our own, and he had to spell it out for us. This kind of reading wasn't really for me. But if you are very analytical, a reading by Weinfield might be more your style.
The next to read was Dr. Orlando Ricardo Menes, whose poetry is heavily inspired by his childhood experiences in Cuba, Peru, and the United States. I found Menes to be much more engaging to listen to, partly because I found his subject matter to be more interesting. It's always captivating to hear someone else's life story, especially if they come from a background very different from your own. Although it was different from my own experiences, there was still some familiar ground with references to Mr. Rodgers and Batman. It also helped that Menes used excellent imagery. I especially noted from his poem "Courtyard of Clotheslines on Angel Hill" the fragment "tin can garden like a cat's cradle." It helped to be more into what he was reading because he did a good job of reading his poems. His tone reflected that of his subject matter, and it was altogether very engaging.
Mary Hawley was the last to read. She had a good sense of humor, which was reflected not only in poems such as "In the New Space" and "Gecko," but also when she spoke between poems. Her poems were kind of quirky, and at points it was difficult to understand exactly what she meant due to ambiguous wording and such, but on the whole she was entertaining to listen to. Another good speaker.
One of the things I noticed throughout all the readings was that the poets would give a little background about the poem they were about to read. As someone who generally believes that art is better when it requires less explanation, I found this to be strange at first. But reflecting on the entire experience, I reminded myself that poetry is generally a short medium: usually only a brief sensation is recorded. So perhaps it is important to get that extra bit of background as someone is reading it.
On the whole, I found this poetry reading to be an interesting experience. Poetry's not generally my bag, but I, for the most part, enjoyed what I heard.
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