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Performance Poetry

You don’t know till you’ve tried it!

by Helen Thomas

Like poetry in general, performance poetry is the victim of prejudice! I suspect that a great many of the people reading this have never attended a performance poetry event. I would happily be proved wrong, but as a regular performer on the northwest poetry circuit I know that audiences are often woefully small. I hasten to add that I am not calling on individual members of the audience to put on weight, but it would be lovely to see an increase in the numbers of people attending!

So what exactly is performance poetry? To be precise there is a difference between a poetry performance and a poetry reading. It is possible to attend any number of literary events and see well known poets reading their own work in order to promote their books. Many poets do this very well but this is not in my opinion performance poetry. It is also fair to say that there are poets who have sold numerous books, who when called upon to read their own work do a very bad job.

I would argue that performance poetry is exactly what its name suggests: a complete package of poetry that is intended to be performed. Just as a play can simply be read through by actors or it can be brilliantly staged and directed, a poem can be dramatically delivered by an accomplished performer, so that it conveys so much more that it could by merely sitting on a page.

There are however, critics of performance poetry who would argue that it is simply a case of style over substance. It has even been suggested that performance poetry is stand up comedy masquerading as poetry in order to gain cheap laughs. It is true that good performance can compensate for weaknesses in the poetry, but critics should be careful not to pigeonhole all performance poets as inferior writers.

I would suggest that at its very best, performance poetry can take intelligent writing and deliver it in ways which are dynamic, invigorating, disturbing, moving and often hilariously funny. I would recommend that poets and none poets alike should get out there to sample performance poetry for themselves, and draw their own conclusions. You may find that it is not to your taste but you certainly won’t be able to say that it was dull!

For amateur poets, there is an added incentive to getting out to watch performance poetry. As it gets increasingly more difficult for poets to get their work published, poetry readings and events are an excellent way for writers to share their work with a receptive audience. Most poetry evenings will include an open mic spot where anyone can get up and read about five minutes of their work. Audiences are usually friendly; you don’t have to be a skilled performer to get a good response. Also, poets in general seem to be a very friendly bunch. You will often see the same faces at regular poetry events and can get to know people who can give you feedback on your work.  Performance events are also good ways to network and find out information about other literature events, courses and competitions that you might not have heard of otherwise.

A lot of poetry events consist simply of an evening of open mic poetry. As mentioned, these are a good way to share your work with others, but there is no guarantee that all of the poetry will be of the highest standard. You have to be prepared to listen to a variety of styles in terms of both writing and performing. You have to take the rough with the smooth. Whilst you might have to listen to one or two poems that aren’t in your opinion up to it, chances are you will also be pleasantly surprised by the standard of other writers. This in turn might well inspire you to write more or to try a different style or even to get up and have a go at performing your own stuff.

If you really want to see and hear some quality poetry then you should try to attend an evening that features one or more guest poets. Often these will be professional writers/performers who will do a full set of their work, say twenty minutes or so.

As mentioned before, there are critics of performance poetry who would question its literary value when compared to ‘page poetry’. I would suggest that rather than deconstructing the poetry and finding it wanting, the viewer should look at the complete performance. I think that good performance poetry is like a piece of theatre. Often the poetry you see has been specifically written for performance and it is the poet’s intention to engage with the audience drawing them in so that they suspend their disbelief as they would at the theatre.

Often the performance is quite visual. Some performance poets even adopt specific personas to deliver their work. The poetry here is not just about the words. I am of the opinion that to criticise the words alone is to miss the point, and also fails to do justice to the talents of the performer. That said I do feel quite strongly that a great deal of  the poetry does stand up to scrutiny. I hope that those who criticise performance poetry do so objectively and not out of any sense of snobbery.

All poetry is of course subjective. That is to a large extent its appeal. It also makes it almost impossible to generalise, so that to say that you like poetry is to give almost nothing away about the type of person that you are. If you like one type of poetry it doesn’t mean that you must shy away from other quite different styles. I get quite cross with people who think that certain types of poetry are in some way more worthy than others. To use the written and spoken word to be expressive and creative is in my opinion a good thing. Life is not a competition and to dwell too much on which is the best ‘page’ or performance poetry is surely missing the point.

You don’t have to be a lofty intellectual, a quiet introvert or an angry young man to enjoy reading, writing and watching poetry. Its out there to be savoured in its many and varied forms. So if you still haven’t sampled the delights of performance poetry, go on, I dare you. You never know, you might just like it!