About Last Night
Lucky me! I had the great privilege to read with three very accomplished writers: Bill Coyle (poetry), Deborah Warren (poetry), and Laurette Viteritti (fiction). I was blown away by their work.
The audience was generous with their attention and applause, and Monet's Cafe was the perfect venue for our Leap Year day event.
Bill Coyle
The audience was generous with their attention and applause, and Monet's Cafe was the perfect venue for our Leap Year day event.
Bill Coyle 
People tell me I tend to look down too much when I read. That's because I'm afraid of losing my place and flubbing my lines.
Laurette Viteritti
Deborah Warren
Host Jennifer Jean
For those who came out on a chilly Friday night, thanks for supporting poetry in the community. And special thanks to Monet's Cafe for continuing to support local artists and musicians.
And for those who read your work in public, do you like reading in public? Do you have any rituals when you read?
Comments
I would love to be as brave as Lola Haskins is with her recitations (I've followed her reading one time with one of her books--she never makes a mistake!). It's just not that she recites, but that she performs with her whole body in expressing the poem. No, it's not quite like a spoken word performance piece, but a way in which the poems themselves inhabit their body.
I tend to look down as I read, just for the same reasons you state. I flub up lines anyway . . . . Maybe with my newfound confidence in acting, I'll start bringing in a little Lola to my performance. I generally make up for it with the pre-reading or post-reading banter.
I have often thought of taking an acting class to help me with my readings, but the whole idea makes me too nervous.
Yes, I know. I have issues.
One thing I do hope to do is memorize a few of my poems. Maybe that will free me to connect with the audience and be more confident.