Youtube is a wonderful thing. After watching the spoken word poem posted by Lindsey, "A Finger, Two Dots Then Me" by Derrick Brown, I decide it is time to get reaquainted with Allen Ginsberg. It has been a while since we last exchanged pleasantries. My mind oscillates between Uncle Allen, the creepy one who follows people around in the supermarket and Grandfather Ginsberg, the progressive, sagacious old Jew. I still am not completely sure what to think of him. I cannot even say which label he, himself would prefer. Nevertheless, when I read "Howl" I cannot help but be impressed. So I look around youtube to see if they have any audio recordings of Ginsberg reading his most famous poem or better yet a video. I hit pay dirt with the audio. They have two excellent recordings. I am less satisfied with the videos. James Franco doing his worst Ginsberg impersonation. Animations splitting the poem up into a thousand separate videos. And what would an animation for a Ginsberg poem be without a giant phallus somewhere in the juxtaposition of images? Answer: not gay enough.
That's not to say I was not impressed as I continued to look through the sites vast video library of spoken word poems. Derrick Brown himself has many other superb films to go along with his poetry. However, I am still on the fence whether I would rather watch a video of a poem or just read it. To me there is something personal missing when I sit down and watch a poetic recitation. When I first viewed "A Finger" I thought "Wow I would love to read that poem". I do not think I to say the opposite had I read it initially. For myself, half the fun of poetry is the mystery, not knowing exactly what tone the author conveys or the complete purpose behind various images the author includes in the poem. Maybe it is just the conservative in me. Please respond and prove me wrong.
I personally like both forms of poetry because each brings something unique to the table. Reading poetry, like reading a book, leaves more up to the imagination. However seeing a poem is like watching a movie--to perform something it has to be interpreted by the performer to some extent. I enjoy different interpretations so I like performed poetry just as much as reading a poem!Maybe it's the egalitarian in me haha
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that there is potential for merit in all art regardless of medium. I guess I just did not see any artistic representations of poetry that were especially moving to me. This is, of course, a completely subjective judgement based solely on the limited number of videos I watched.
DeleteGood post -- wish you'd put in links to things mentioned, though.
ReplyDeleteDoes it look better now?
DeleteOk added some thanks for the feedback. I still was not sure how many links I should include. Makes sense now.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I love spoken word and performance poetry, I definitely agree about wanting to read some things rather than hear them! In my personal experiences with poetry, I've found that the only pieces I typically enjoy listening to and watching are the ones, like spoken word, that are written specifically for that purpose. In almost any other case, I would want to read it myself.
ReplyDeleteWhen I listen to a pieces of performance poetry I sometimes think "What would this be like if I were reading it on a page?" and sometimes the answer is: flat.
Likewise, sometimes when listening to ordinary poems being recited, I hate it. I don't want to hear someone else's voice reading it "wrong," I want to hear it in my own voice.
Anyway, just my opinions.