Poetry Out Loud

Medusa, by Louise Bogan
Anne Rutledge, by Edgar Lee Masters
It was not Death, for I stood up, by Emily Dickinson
In Praise of Pain, by Heath McHugh
Famous, by Naomi Shihab Nye
Fairy-tale Logic, by A.E. Stallings
My Brother, the Artist, at Seven, by Philip Levine

Out of these poems, I liked "Fairy-tale logic," "It was not Death, for I stood up," "in Praise of Pain,"  "Famous," and "My Brother, the Artist, at Seven." I liked these as they communicated a unique emotional meaning that I could relate to myself.


I did not like "Medusa," or "London" as they seemed overly archaic, or "Anne Rutledge," as I thought it tried to be too patriotic.

Out of these, I would probably choose My Brother, the Aritst, at Seven, as it was most interesting to me and was long enough that I would consider reciting it. Personally, this poem reminded my of time in my backyard, exploring imaginary worlds. The imagery of immigrants speaking gibberish without their children to translate also rings especially in my memory.

Looking at the audience and avoiding over-acting will probably be fairly easy for me, as my eyes tend to wander naturally when I am speaking, and because hand motions are not something I use subconsciously.

Proceeding at a natural and fitting pace may be difficult for me, as I tend to speak quickly. Also, relaxing and enjoying the poem may also be hard, because I become nervous fairly easily.

I watched Danse Russe, recited by William Farley, and was impressed by his facial expression, as it matched the tone of the poem extremely well, as well as his occasional but fleeting use of gesture, which provided accentuation without overdramatising the poem.
I also watched I Am Waiting, recited by Madison Niermeyer. The recitation was successful in large part because the reciter's tone maintained a balance between ironic and expressive.


     I think I will choose to recite My brother, the artist, at seven, and am also looking forward to the competition and hearing the poems everyone has chosen. I chose my poem because of its meaning to myself, length, and vivid imagery. As for the website where I found it, I found it well-designed and easy to navigate, thankfully. A descriptor of the poems by category or subject matter may have helped with finding a poem, however.


 - Sherwin