Spoken Word
Share your poem by any means necessary.96 total reviews
Comment from Joan E.
First, congratulations on winning the ode contest with your "Hot Dog" poem. Next, thank you for encouraging all of us to share our poetry and for your tribute to one disabled poet in particular. Your observations are quite moving and memorable--I hope they were well received by the magazines you contacted. Cheers- Joan
reply by the author on 12-Sep-2015
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First, congratulations on winning the ode contest with your "Hot Dog" poem. Next, thank you for encouraging all of us to share our poetry and for your tribute to one disabled poet in particular. Your observations are quite moving and memorable--I hope they were well received by the magazines you contacted. Cheers- Joan
Comment Written 12-Sep-2015
reply by the author on 12-Sep-2015
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Thank you for your review, Joan. I am still waiting to hear back from the magazines regarding my poems. Thanks for your encouragement.
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Fingers crossed! ; ) -Joan
Comment from Jean Lutz
Ouch! This could be me you are talking about. I am terribly afraid of reading before an audience. Most locals know this and if they see me with a sheet of paper trembling in my hand will volunteer to read it for me.
reply by the author on 16-May-2015
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Ouch! This could be me you are talking about. I am terribly afraid of reading before an audience. Most locals know this and if they see me with a sheet of paper trembling in my hand will volunteer to read it for me.
Comment Written 16-May-2015
reply by the author on 16-May-2015
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Thank you, Jean, for your kind review, I am glad my poem resonated with you. Ouch!
Comment from pipersfancy
I watched your performance on YouTube - very nice! Always good to put a face to an artist. I was intrigued by this work on several levels. As a speech-language pathologist, I work with kids with cerebral palsy, adults with neurological impairments, deaf/hard of hearing folks trying to gain oral communication skills... one thing I know for sure - We all have something to say, and I try in my professional capacity to let these folks be heard and understood... Then, there's the poet in me. I've added a new workshop that I now bring into the schools where I work... poetry workshops for speech and language impaired kids... it's a blast!
Offside - I took part in my first open mike event a year ago. What a different feeling you get - speaking aloud in front of others! Rock on!
Christina
reply by the author on 15-May-2015
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I watched your performance on YouTube - very nice! Always good to put a face to an artist. I was intrigued by this work on several levels. As a speech-language pathologist, I work with kids with cerebral palsy, adults with neurological impairments, deaf/hard of hearing folks trying to gain oral communication skills... one thing I know for sure - We all have something to say, and I try in my professional capacity to let these folks be heard and understood... Then, there's the poet in me. I've added a new workshop that I now bring into the schools where I work... poetry workshops for speech and language impaired kids... it's a blast!
Offside - I took part in my first open mike event a year ago. What a different feeling you get - speaking aloud in front of others! Rock on!
Christina
Comment Written 15-May-2015
reply by the author on 15-May-2015
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Thank you for your fine, six star review and thank you also for your work as a speech-language pathologist bringing poetry into schools. Yes, "We all have something to say." My poem and your work proves this. Thank you for your review.
Comment from Gypsy Blue Rose
Sis Cat,
I love this poem! So powerful. I have done spoken word on stage and I know what you mean. So many poets go unrecognized because they are too affraid to speak up. I have been afraid at times too.
I love this passage:
" heard a poet unable to read a word
but able to recite a library"
-excellent rhythm
-action flows smoothly
-descriptive language used
-excellent format and picture
-excellent character development
-held my interest all the way to the end
Write on!
reply by the author on 06-May-2015
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Sis Cat,
I love this poem! So powerful. I have done spoken word on stage and I know what you mean. So many poets go unrecognized because they are too affraid to speak up. I have been afraid at times too.
I love this passage:
" heard a poet unable to read a word
but able to recite a library"
-excellent rhythm
-action flows smoothly
-descriptive language used
-excellent format and picture
-excellent character development
-held my interest all the way to the end
Write on!
Comment Written 05-May-2015
reply by the author on 06-May-2015
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Thank you, Gypsy Blue Rose, for your kind review. What scares me, too, is the knowledge that there are poets out there who could be great if they overcome their fear and speak up. I hope my poem helps reach some. Thanks for your review.
Comment from visionary1234
Bravo Cat! What a nice message you give us here - get your work OUT THERE (especially as no one else will do it). Personally I LOVE performing and performing poetry is easy - good poetry is MEANT to be heard! And you gave us a gentle reminder that 'nerves' aren't really much of an excuse - that's all ego. Great message! :)Sharyn
reply by the author on 05-May-2015
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Bravo Cat! What a nice message you give us here - get your work OUT THERE (especially as no one else will do it). Personally I LOVE performing and performing poetry is easy - good poetry is MEANT to be heard! And you gave us a gentle reminder that 'nerves' aren't really much of an excuse - that's all ego. Great message! :)Sharyn
Comment Written 05-May-2015
reply by the author on 05-May-2015
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Thank you once again, Sharyn, for your fine review. Keep on performing!
Comment from janalma
What a wonderful thing--that there is a place where disabled poets can express their poetry. Poem is heart-tugging, and your words brought it to life. I understand it and am amazed and touched at what people will go thru to express their feelings and their inner soul. Evocative poem.
reply by the author on 05-May-2015
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What a wonderful thing--that there is a place where disabled poets can express their poetry. Poem is heart-tugging, and your words brought it to life. I understand it and am amazed and touched at what people will go thru to express their feelings and their inner soul. Evocative poem.
Comment Written 05-May-2015
reply by the author on 05-May-2015
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Thank you, janalma, for your fine review. I, too, am amazed at what poets with disabilities will go through in order to perform their work. I paid tribute to the diversity of poets and voices. Thanks.
Comment from Day Z Chayn
There's a singular example of a poet who comes to mind who only performed once publicly in his lifetime. His name was Larry Eigner. Larry was born in 1927 with cerebral palsy. The one night when he performed, it took him a total of some 45 minutes to recite no less than one poem, but no more than three.
The audience there (at a university auditorium, no less) gave him a standing ovation which continuously lasted the same number of minutes as his initial reading. No one sat for 45 minutes, and THEN everyone left.
About Larry: in typescript, his poems were often italicized. When you see them physically on a page, they capture the same effect as when you are driving in a car. Suppose you are a child in that car, gazing from the backseat window.
The prevailing motion is created by the space on the page; not WHAT the words are but simply WHERE.
I have cerebral palsy also. It is a form of the defect referred to as 'spastic diplegia.' Today, no pediatricians currently employed in the medical field have heard of it.
Another thing about Larry - he received a manual typewriter at age 13.
He spent his entire life in Boston Massachusetts in the same house he grew up in.
If memory serves me correctly, after his parents both died, Larry Eigner relocated to California. I don't recall if it was Berkley or San Fransisco,
I don't fear public performance - I am simply limited logistically and financially from traveling today.
No one should fear any person with CP; they ought simply fear what a person w/CP is actually capable of.
I'm able to type these words, able to project my voice across a room without screaming and also perhaps without a microphone even.
I take care of my mother, who suffers from memory loss/dementia which may progress into Alzheimer's over time.
Every able bodied person who I have spoken to about public performance (many are FS members) seems scared sh**less to do it. Nothing wrong with that, though many whom I have spoken to over time about public performance are no longer within Fanstory ranks today.
I've been using this site ten years. For another ten, I was publishing poems in a handful of small press magazines from the time I was 26 until the time I was 36. The internet was not a viable outlet for these endeavors when I began.
I'm 50 years old today.
What strikes me about this poem is the number of folks you witnessed gathered all in one place; many of them are publicly marginalized, although they shouldn't be.
The only constant in my entire life to this point besides a lifelong disability is the fortitude poetry brings me; public or private, silent or spoken.
Blessings,
Shane
reply by the author on 06-May-2015
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There's a singular example of a poet who comes to mind who only performed once publicly in his lifetime. His name was Larry Eigner. Larry was born in 1927 with cerebral palsy. The one night when he performed, it took him a total of some 45 minutes to recite no less than one poem, but no more than three.
The audience there (at a university auditorium, no less) gave him a standing ovation which continuously lasted the same number of minutes as his initial reading. No one sat for 45 minutes, and THEN everyone left.
About Larry: in typescript, his poems were often italicized. When you see them physically on a page, they capture the same effect as when you are driving in a car. Suppose you are a child in that car, gazing from the backseat window.
The prevailing motion is created by the space on the page; not WHAT the words are but simply WHERE.
I have cerebral palsy also. It is a form of the defect referred to as 'spastic diplegia.' Today, no pediatricians currently employed in the medical field have heard of it.
Another thing about Larry - he received a manual typewriter at age 13.
He spent his entire life in Boston Massachusetts in the same house he grew up in.
If memory serves me correctly, after his parents both died, Larry Eigner relocated to California. I don't recall if it was Berkley or San Fransisco,
I don't fear public performance - I am simply limited logistically and financially from traveling today.
No one should fear any person with CP; they ought simply fear what a person w/CP is actually capable of.
I'm able to type these words, able to project my voice across a room without screaming and also perhaps without a microphone even.
I take care of my mother, who suffers from memory loss/dementia which may progress into Alzheimer's over time.
Every able bodied person who I have spoken to about public performance (many are FS members) seems scared sh**less to do it. Nothing wrong with that, though many whom I have spoken to over time about public performance are no longer within Fanstory ranks today.
I've been using this site ten years. For another ten, I was publishing poems in a handful of small press magazines from the time I was 26 until the time I was 36. The internet was not a viable outlet for these endeavors when I began.
I'm 50 years old today.
What strikes me about this poem is the number of folks you witnessed gathered all in one place; many of them are publicly marginalized, although they shouldn't be.
The only constant in my entire life to this point besides a lifelong disability is the fortitude poetry brings me; public or private, silent or spoken.
Blessings,
Shane
Comment Written 05-May-2015
reply by the author on 06-May-2015
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Thank you, Day Z Chayn, for your informative review. I will check out Larry Eigner and recommend him to poets with CP I work with at the Cerebral Palsy Center in Oakland.
Two small corrections about your review. I did not witness all of these poets with disabilities at one event, but over the course of two years at multiple events. Also, few of these poets I referenced are marginalized but are among the biggest names in their field. You may know some: Nathan Say (CP), Lateef McLeod (CP), Leroy Moore (CP), and storyteller Kevin Kling, born with a short arm whose hand has only four fingers while the other arm is unusable because it was yanked out of its socket in a motorcycle accident. These poets and storytellers with disabilities are phenomenal and I hope my poem is a worthy tribute to them.
A poet that both you and I are working to move out of the margins is Monique Harris, known to you on FS as Blackdollbaby. She already thanked you but I am thanking you again for promoting four of her poems on FS. She deeply appreciated your gesture which boosted her confidence.
Poetry also brings me fortitude after my mother, Jessie Lee Wilson (who read her last rites into the mic) died three years ago. After a twenty year hiatus, I resumed poetry at age 48 when I performed my mother's poetry at her memorial service. I have been writing and performing my own poems ever since.
Thanks for your six star review.
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If you do reference Larry Eugner's name, you'll discover that he has been deceased for some twenty years as of next year. His obituary is available online, as are scattered tributes to him as an individual. Mr. Eigner passed away in 1996. He had relocated to Berkley in 1978.
John Martin the [former] editor of Black Sparrow Press promoted and praised Eigner's work very highly. I'm uncertain as to whether his work remains in print form or if it has been subsequently reissued after all this time.
Larry Eigner also had an appearance in the documentary 'The United States of Poetry' aired on PBS some years ago.
"The United States of Poetry' was also published as a hardcover book.
~Shane~
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If you do reference Larry Eugner's name, you'll discover that he has been deceased for some twenty years as of next year. His obituary is available online, as are scattered tributes to him as an individual. Mr. Eigner passed away in 1996. He had relocated to Berkley in 1978.
John Martin the [former] editor of Black Sparrow Press promoted and praised Eigner's work very highly. I'm uncertain as to whether his work remains in print form or if it has been subsequently reissued after all this time.
Larry Eigner also had an appearance in the documentary 'The United States of Poetry' aired on PBS some years ago.
"The United States of Poetry' was also published as a hardcover book.
~Shane~
Comment from Donya Quijote
I know exactly how it feels to read one's work for the first time before a group of strangers. The only thing that made it bearable was the fact that a friend and the professor who invited me were there. Just as unsettling is hearing someone read your work. Recently, my students did just that at a productions my foreign language classes put on for the school.
You capture well a gambit of emotions, sites, and possibilities that can occur at a poetry jam. I feel for your friend, but I am sure with continued encouragement eventually she will take the first brave step to the stage. Don't give up!!! Good luck on all fronts with your friend and your submission...
reply by the author on 05-May-2015
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I know exactly how it feels to read one's work for the first time before a group of strangers. The only thing that made it bearable was the fact that a friend and the professor who invited me were there. Just as unsettling is hearing someone read your work. Recently, my students did just that at a productions my foreign language classes put on for the school.
You capture well a gambit of emotions, sites, and possibilities that can occur at a poetry jam. I feel for your friend, but I am sure with continued encouragement eventually she will take the first brave step to the stage. Don't give up!!! Good luck on all fronts with your friend and your submission...
Comment Written 05-May-2015
reply by the author on 05-May-2015
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Yes, Donya, I am going to work hard to get her back on the stage. To me, this poem is incomplete unless I give her the encouragement and support to read publically. I already got her onto FanStory. She is thrilled with this. Thanks for your review and encouragement.
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What's her handle?
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Blackdollbaby. She has half a dozen poems on FS. I helped edit most and got several published in the online journal "Wordgathering."
Comment from Jacob Collins
I enjoyed reading this piece, Sis Cat. you captured the story well in this piece and I found it a heart warming read. Your writing flowed well and I couldn't find any faults. Thanks for sharing...Jacob
reply by the author on 05-May-2015
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I enjoyed reading this piece, Sis Cat. you captured the story well in this piece and I found it a heart warming read. Your writing flowed well and I couldn't find any faults. Thanks for sharing...Jacob
Comment Written 05-May-2015
reply by the author on 05-May-2015
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Thank you, Jacob, for your kind review. I am glad you enjoyed reading this piece.
Comment from Mary H-W
This poem is full of meaning. Even before I read the dedication I suspected it referred to specific people. People like me, perhaps. The poem reads smoothly and comfortably without the use of rhymes. Each verse is a story in and of itself, yet tied together with the longer two verses. I'm glad to not only hear these poets, but to also see them, and feel their 'pain'.
reply by the author on 05-May-2015
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This poem is full of meaning. Even before I read the dedication I suspected it referred to specific people. People like me, perhaps. The poem reads smoothly and comfortably without the use of rhymes. Each verse is a story in and of itself, yet tied together with the longer two verses. I'm glad to not only hear these poets, but to also see them, and feel their 'pain'.
Comment Written 05-May-2015
reply by the author on 05-May-2015
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Thank you, Mary, for your kind review. I strove for the reader to see and feel the poet in each verse which told their story. Thanks for your review.
