I would like to find the person who wrote the unwritten rule that “REAL” poets don’t read onstage. I’ve heard several terrific poets say that they are afraid to come to the open mic because they don’t want to seem like amateurs onstage with their paper. My response is, correct me if I’m wrong, but we’re ALL amateurs. The purpose of the open mic is to OPEN the microphone for any and everybody to get on stage and recite their work. Its just that simple. It doesn’t matter if you read off of paper, memorize or get up and pantomime. Its an OPEN MIC.
I was on my way to the Java Monkey one evening to meet Lady and I found her talking to this gentleman. He was saying that he had seen her at the open mic the previous day and expressed his apprehension about getting on stage and reading his poetry. He said that he thought nobody would “get” his poetry and he was intimidated because he didn’t scream and rant like the other poets. Its sad when a person is afraid to share his/her work because they’re afraid.
I think people are losing the sight of the purpose of poetry. In my own humble opinion, poetry’s purpose isn’t to make the poet rich and famous, it isn’t to intimidate and it DAMN sure isn’t to get laid. I feel that the purpose of poetry is to express the feelings, ideas and ideals of the poet, and if a person is afraid to do that, they poetry suffers. And, ultimately, if poetry suffers, then the world suffers. I know that seems a tad bit melodramatic, but I AM a poet after all.
I hear poets get up on stage and rattle off some of the most amazing, awe inspiring sets of words that anyone had ever heard. I’ve heard some of the greatest alliteration, consonance, personification, and literary brilliance ever penned by modern American writers. But the problem is, after you hear some of there poetry, you don’t know anything about them. They don’t talk about their dreams, their desires, WHO they are…nothing. I feel that if the poetry doesn’t say anything about YOU, then you shouldn’t share it. Well, I mean the poet should be more willing to open him/herself up to be exposed to the audience. We are a voyeuristic society. We want to see inside of the lives of the people we live alongside. They may be going through the EXACT same thing that we’re going through. We may be able to help them, or they may be able to help us. The point I’m trying to get at is that poets need to SHARE, whether is off of paper or from memory, as long as its REAL, its good.