Mariya: Good morning, Tom, let me start our dialogue (to follow Fromm here in his claim that the best thing in life is to begin). After reading the stimulating discussions up to now, I thought we might offer an exchange on the other side of the battle field, namely, what are our modes of reading, how do we read (to counter the dialogues of how these authors write), what are our danger zones, where do we pause, how do we attempt (be it often to no avail) to reflect our blind spots (as readers). Let’s talk of situating ourselves, of disloyalty, dissociation, problematic readings and too, impossible ones. Of Glissant’s ’Nous réclamons le droit a l’opacité’ and the ethics of silence; the desire to know and unknow; politics of reading, its perils, vulnerability and possibilities, too. Let’s talk of questions that leave us restless and too, those which stand at the borderline between us and the text.
Tom: Bam Bam BAM! That’s not a start, that is an overwhelming mass of possabilities, no it’s not, but a realistic statement of what is already given (we don’t need to (re-)start things that are already in a ‘state’ of flux, in progress, in a progress of flux, or something like trans-streaming…). I think about our session last Saturday (our Bremen-Kampala-Blog-Group), when we talked about Nikolas’ first chapter (Joseph) of his novel in progress. We stated, that an opening of such a text, that overcharges the reader with a naturlaness of a story (no traditional, or easy accessible introduction where you get to know the charecters, places and else on a dinner tray like in an encyclopedia) and leaves one behind with a situation in which you have to deal with (and in a certain way to accept) a mode of not-knowing (“what’s going on?” and “what exactly is this about”), while simultaneously constructing a minimal, fractional access, to get hit by an influx to get soaked into the text (somehow being rejected by a text and getting caught in an undertow at the same time) – that such a beginning can be the literary translation to a/the concept of transculturalism. Transculturalism as a way to describe reality – social reality as given and grown structures that are influenced by various streams (each one for itself a highly dynamic formation) and directions. Both, transculturalism as a way to describe … world(?)/ a way of perception and the opening of (such) a text (currently I’m thinking that ‘beginning’ is simply a wrong term for handling such texts) alike, are dodgy situations, or better, require a sense for dodgy situations – one simply has to deal with the never wholly knowable background of structures and influxes of a cultural happening, one has to accept the never wholly bridgeable or fillable gap between the given and the/my/ones perception, but one has to create a walkable/walk-on-able bridge, in order not to get entirely lost.
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Did I get that right?:
First, they write their poems, second, they train their general performance skills, third, they perform their poems in rehearsal conditions, fourth, they perform their poems in a recital(?).
Do the poems change (substantially or in appearance) because of new insights/knowledge due to the rehearsals?
Do new poems come to their minds/hands, because of acting with language and their body material? – and if so, do such poems differ from those, that were created on the desktop?
Hi Tom, yes you got all that right.
The poems do not change but the performance/delivery does as the feedback comes in. Please note that the people who recite the poems are not (in most cases) the people who wrote the poems.
Ah, ok, I didn’t get that in the first moment.
Nevertheless, I still wonder whether the experiences they made with the recital/ with performing (their) texts, are influencing the poems or (their) ways of creating poems – therefore I’m also very looking forward to your report.
Dear Nyana,
Yes, I ‘ve had a few intense days with interesting readings and a lot of work. But, unfortunately I have been ill for the past couple of days, that´s the reason why I haven´t written anything (sorry about that). I will write more about the literature week and my experiences with moderation tomorrow, so that you get a little impression. Thank you so much for your post about “The Lantern Meet Of Poets“. I like how serious they prepare themselves for their recital. The games you described I know from improvisation theatre (I guess, Tom will know them, too), but I never used these ones for the preparation of a reading. I suppose many writers underestimate the importance of good preparation for a reading. I mean, you don’t have to be a good reader to be a good writer, but if you go out to present your own texts to an audience you should be prepared. That´s the reason why I love these sentences of your text:
“Performing is about shared energy. The energy you give the audience is the same they will give back to you.“/ “Sometimes the audience is a mirror of your performance. Prepare well and package the performance well so they can feel the emotions you want to convey.“
That is so true. I would like to attend a poetry recital of “The Lantern Meet Of Poets” and I´m curious to hear about your impressions. And like Tom, I wonder how big the difference between the rehearsal and the recital would be, how much it would change their performance or maybe even their poems.
Oh Jens! I am sorry you have been unwell. I hope you feel better pretty soon.
I am very curious to see how different the recital is from what the rehearsal looked like. I’ll attend the show this evening and let you know how it goes!
Feel better!
I agree with you and the quoted passages, but want to add and share an experience I had at the weekend:
One of my best friends was celebrating a decadal birthday (friends, family, colleagues, etc., everyone there) and I wanted do a little performance/slam poetry at the champagne reception. I did some preparations similar to them you, Nyana, described, but actually I didn’t have to create an atmosphere, because of this very special situation, where everyone already is enriched with energy – I was thinking about the passages Jens quoted and suddenly felt like I was mirroring the audience and not the other way round. So they gave me emotions, that were appropriate for this moment.
That is not to say, that it couldn’t work the other way round, no. I just wanted to say that I really loved this moment that accrued because of the discussion in this Blog and suddenly gave me a sense for the material of autopoietic-feedback-loops (my clumsy translation for a term I only know in german ‘autopoietische Feedback-Schleifen’ – anyone knowing a better translation?).
That’s a good example. For sure you’re right, it´s more complex. I also remember performances, where I got a lot of energy from the audience (that’s great) – usually it’s a kind of interplay. But I also remember performances, where I started well prepared and full of enthusiasm, but the spark didn’t jump in the audience and there is nothing you can do about it (that´s horrible).
Hey Nyana,
I can’t wait to hear how the Lantern Meet’s performances go. I had an awesome opportunity to work with them way back in 2010. They are super! Looking forward to hearing more.
I hope it went well. Seeing this now and I remember how I had to learn acting drunk. Writing a poem is one thing and acting it is quite another moreso when you have to carry the emotion the writer intended. Or the mode of delivery that the audience will be able to easily receive it. That I have had the chance to do both, I’m grateful to the Lantern Meet of Poets.
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