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I don’t read poetry because I don’t get it. I wish the poem would just say what it means – too often I don’t know what the poet is talking about and then I feel stupid and then resentful that it made me feel that way and so I don’t read poetry. I realize I am not supposed to take this view or at least not supposed to voice it, but I can’t help it. Reading poetry reminds me of trying to do crossword puzzles – I hate those cutesy hints – just ask me what you want to know! It feels passive-aggressive…
Why then do I find listening to poetry to be so different? I often hear The Writer’s Almanac on my morning commute. In it Garrison Keillor (who by the way along with Jim Dale is one of the two best read-alouders in the world) reads a poem. I almost always appreciate it, and oftentimes I really like it. I heard the poet Billy Collins read his poem The Lanyard on the radio program A Prairie Home Companion and have cherished it ever since. [Use RealPlayer to listen to segment 2 of the show.] And years ago I heard Robert Bly read his work and loved it.
I don’t know why hearing a poem makes it more understandable to me, but when I hear a poem it says exactly what it means, way better than if it just said what it meant. And once I have heard a poem read well, I can go back and read it myself and enjoy it. So I am led to conclude that this all has to do with voice. I need to hear a literal voice before I can hear the figurative voice. (The inverse of this is that I cannot bear to listen to a recorded book if the voice isn’t “right.” Which is why I appreciate Keillor and Dale so much.)
The poet Robert Browning is said to have remarked: When I wrote that poem only God and I knew what it meant. Now only God knows. Points for honesty, Bob. Maybe it would have helped to hear it read aloud?
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