Presenting Your Poems Well

A good reading can bump up a weak poem, and a lousy reading can kill a great poem. The tricky bit is correcting that, or at least correcting the latter. If you can entertain for the duration of a weak poem, good on ya.
But how not to stand in the way of people hearing your poem as you read it?
Some of the principles are straight from toastmasters and common sense as in any conversation skill yet it’s funny how much one forgets when it comes to Poetry as if that were something other than Communications.
I missed most of the Marnie Woodrow workshops on the subject of giving a great reading, (I got 1 hour of the 6). I caught Susan McMaster’s talk on it, also via Tree.
Here are a few ideas.
The speaker-listener distance is skewed from normal conversation and the turn taking is longer and that messes a person up. Some people when they don’t get the feedback expected slow down and overexplain. Others rush onwards. Others clam up and become self-conscious. You know which way you generally respond? Counter your habit. Listen for sub-vocals to see if anything you’re saying is catching out there.
Beforehand:
a) Experiment with speaking, alternating with things you didn’t write. See how your voice comes out differently.
b) Go as quickly as possible thru your poem and see where you stumble. Go as slow as possible and see where you want to hurry yourself on. That can set the speed and last minute reading version or print version edits.
c) Do it wrong. Just like write the worst poem you possibly can to clear the cobwebs, do a completely bad cover of your poem. See if that will show yourself how to do it right. Or just make you laugh and relax. Poet voice is partly an attribute of taking your presentation and self too seriously.
d) Be familiar with what’s on the page in case you go blind. Rote memory can run on automatic. Page is more for back up to glance at.
e) Think thru all you’ll say beforehand, including thanks. Have a plan B for a word or two about the poem written down so you don’t blank out and don’t prattle on overexplaining. A rest of non-poetry to clear the palate can help keep the audience fresh and catch up to the end of the one poem before the next starts. Be as brief.
f) Reading poems in an order that segues tone and inserting pauses can help with the same issue of listeners missing one poem because they are still trying to digest the last and/or can’t shift mental gears in time for the next.
During the Reading
a) Talk on a full column of air with relaxed but upright stance. Feet apart, shoulders back so you’re pointing your noise maker in the direction of ears.
b) It is about the poem, not about you. Step behind the words and then into them. Don’t get ahead of yourself. An out of body reading isn’t good on either side of the podium.
c) Take a breath and don’t run out. Talk from the gut not from the throat in order to project and not strip your voice while being inaudible at no extra charge.
d) You set the tone. If you diminish your poem, ears turn off. If you appear comfortable, the audience can relax too.
e) Vary speed and pauses. If nervous and head chatter is high, slow down more than you feel you need to to give people a chance to process. Pick up the pace and vary it.
f) Inflect what the meanings are on the page. You’re just a conduit. Relax, stay connected to the meaning.
g) Stay for a few beats after you finish the last poem to let it settle and let you settle before you say thanks and rush off.
Between Readings
Get over jitters by presenting any chance you can. It’s a no-loss, no-win game, especially once you decide to have fun with it.
Check local events to find places to read.
Happy reading, for you and the audience.