Poetry Readings

Last Thursday there was Poetry for Peace celebrating Pablo Neruda. I had only gone to one Poetry for Peace reading before, but that was three years ago freshman year, and I don’t remember much of it. Though I liked it, the session wasn’t what I was expecting. I don’t know how poetry readings usually work, but I was expecting it to be much more informal and more powerful. There were a handful of professors, twice as many students, and a few guest speakers brought in from other schools (granted, they came from Canton or Potsdam, but still). There were refreshments like at the writer series events, and we were even recorded (which was a little nerve-racking). The guest speakers talked about the poet and various aspects of his life, what they liked about the poem they were reading, etc. All of the speakers were interesting to listen to, but the whole event felt more like a lecture than the poetry jam I had envisioned. There were probably six or seven students present and almost all of us read. I chose to read Neruda’s “Puedo escribir los versos mas tristes esta noche” first in Spanish, then in English. I didn’t really give a prelude as to why I chose this poem and why I love it so much (I don’t know if I mentioned before that the whole event was nearly 2 hours long—again, not what I was expecting) because I wanted to keep my reading short and sweet. Also, I don’t know if the location is a fixed one or if for each Poetry for Peace session there’s a different venue, but I think it would be a better idea to hold it in the Winston room. It’s a more open and welcoming environment; people can come and go as they please and those who are just passing through can stop and listen for a minute or too should they want.

I also went to the Swan Day performance the week before, and I have to say after the Poetry for Peace session, Swan Day was more what I was expecting out of a poetry jam. The students of a gender studies class put on the event, and there was a lot of original poetry performed through different expressions. Poetry was recited in the middle of a dance, poetry was acted out through skits, and it was also just read but there was so much emotion in the reader’s voice that you were moved. I guess that’s why I liked the Swan Day performance better and would call it more of a poetry session than Poetry for Peace, because the poetry there was expressed in so many different ways and it had much more intensity and passion than the Poetry for Peace readings. Then again maybe it’s unfair for me to say that, maybe it’s different when the poem you’re reading is your own work of art and you know just how you want it to be expressed… Either way, I definitely recommend going to Poetry for Peace because even though it’s long and it wasn’t what I had envisioned, I still got to listen to some great poetry. Oh, and those who aren’t seniors should definitely go to next year’s Swan Day Performance!