Years ago in Boston on one of my early book tours, I had an argument with another writer. He fiercely maintained that when you do a public reading from your book, you have to stick to the exact text on the page. No deviations whatsoever. If you did change anything, you were cheating your listeners.
I love this! I agree, a reading should be a performance of sorts, maybe add in singing, acting, et cetera, for a diverse experience. The audience should be engaged if not blown away.
Well done for reading and singing. I hate to read out loud, not because I hate reading out loud, but because I stumble over my words and get the order mixed up because of mild dysphasia. Not a good look if you're peddling your work. If I'm ever lucky enough to be invited to read to an audience, I'll hire someone like to you to do it for me!
I love this! Good for you on your singing and your writing and your performing. You're inspiring.
I'm just getting started for my readings for my poetry collection Tethers End by performing more often at open mic nights locally and online. I have been thinking much about what kind of "extra" information I want to give that lets the poems breathe on their own but provides a theatrical element. For a single poem, unless it's ekphrastic, I typically let the poem speak for itself. Some, if including a very technical or obscure term, might get a bit of preface. I also know that my newer work even more accomplished that what is in the collection, so I plan to include some of those poems without feeling like I'm "misleading" the potential book purchaser.
I was at a poetry open mic recently where one performer more in the spoken word vein, sang the refrain and then went into verses that were spoken. That was an interesting combination that worked for that piece.
When you've made the effort to write affecting or entertaining work, it's worth the time and effort to make sure you can share it in a way that will be memorable.
Totally in agreement about the reading. I prepare for these by reading aloud on my own and I smoothen the text when something "sticks" in the delivery. I've deleted tags and sentences because a pause did the job. It isn't cheating the listener, it's hearing the writer's voice. Talking about voice, a tried to take lessons many years ago and the teacher said: I you can speak, you can sing. That was wildly optimistic, lol!
I agree completely with your discussion of an author event--reading, commenting on the work, adding something more than is in the text. I often pick a scene I can comment on before and after reading it, answer questions, and then link to another scene. As for singing, I don't have a voice so I envy you that, but I played the piano for years when I was young and I loved the freedom I had in interpreting certain pieces. I knew a mazurka was never going to sound the same way twice.
I love this! I agree, a reading should be a performance of sorts, maybe add in singing, acting, et cetera, for a diverse experience. The audience should be engaged if not blown away.
Well done for reading and singing. I hate to read out loud, not because I hate reading out loud, but because I stumble over my words and get the order mixed up because of mild dysphasia. Not a good look if you're peddling your work. If I'm ever lucky enough to be invited to read to an audience, I'll hire someone like to you to do it for me!
I love this! Good for you on your singing and your writing and your performing. You're inspiring.
I'm just getting started for my readings for my poetry collection Tethers End by performing more often at open mic nights locally and online. I have been thinking much about what kind of "extra" information I want to give that lets the poems breathe on their own but provides a theatrical element. For a single poem, unless it's ekphrastic, I typically let the poem speak for itself. Some, if including a very technical or obscure term, might get a bit of preface. I also know that my newer work even more accomplished that what is in the collection, so I plan to include some of those poems without feeling like I'm "misleading" the potential book purchaser.
I was at a poetry open mic recently where one performer more in the spoken word vein, sang the refrain and then went into verses that were spoken. That was an interesting combination that worked for that piece.
When you've made the effort to write affecting or entertaining work, it's worth the time and effort to make sure you can share it in a way that will be memorable.
Totally in agreement about the reading. I prepare for these by reading aloud on my own and I smoothen the text when something "sticks" in the delivery. I've deleted tags and sentences because a pause did the job. It isn't cheating the listener, it's hearing the writer's voice. Talking about voice, a tried to take lessons many years ago and the teacher said: I you can speak, you can sing. That was wildly optimistic, lol!
I agree completely with your discussion of an author event--reading, commenting on the work, adding something more than is in the text. I often pick a scene I can comment on before and after reading it, answer questions, and then link to another scene. As for singing, I don't have a voice so I envy you that, but I played the piano for years when I was young and I loved the freedom I had in interpreting certain pieces. I knew a mazurka was never going to sound the same way twice.