Attending the typical poetry reading is, for me, a less than pleasant duty, redeemed by the faint hope of a pleasant surprise. There I sit, listening fiercely for signs of life in the flow of words, trying not to radiate grumpiness. These people are, after all, putting themselves out there; they deserve courteous attention (and maybe purchase of their often self-funded books). I may soon be in their shoes. And when everyone murmurs “How moving,” it seems rude to demur.
Am I a hypocrite? Not exactly. To complain about what’s on offer would be like objecting when someone speaks a foreign language, in their own country. The typical reader-out-loud is not really aiming for poetry as I understand it, that difficult reach toward a higher communication. Rather, she or he is doing “self-expression.” This can take the form of a declaimed diary entry, a lineated barstool complaint, a morning’s feeble paraphrase of a dream, a helpless “you know what I mean.” It’s a different lingo, another register of speech.
Sharing such writing in public is like posting on Snapchat: the payoff is in the immediate connection with a sympathetic audience. And indeed—much though the fact bemuses me—many, many people enjoy this scene. (The ones that want more tend to stay home.)
So my issue is really not with the product. It’s with the labeling of the product. As I’ve noted before, “poetry” is the most protean of categories. We more or less know what a short story is, what a play is, what a news item is. “Poetry” is everything not included in these better-defined zones and, indeed, it overlaps them. Its reach is almost coextensive with “writing.” Yet—and this is the core of the problem—“poetry” is simultaneously a term of highest praise.
Say “I’m a playwright,” and people may ask what you’ve had produced. Say “I’m a poet,” and the response is likely to be: “How wonderful! So am I.”
I wish we had more signposts for the sprawling territory we call poetry. We don’t, so here I sit, listening hungrily for something that is very occasionally there.
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