Exploring the pause

Day 2 at the Geraldine R Dodge Poetry Festival began well and ended on a high note. The major disappointment during the day was the reading by Fanny Howe during the Friday night prime time.

Terrance Hayes read several poems wrapping them with what we needed to know before hand in either a short explanation or a longer one. There was an intensity in his work that came through clearly.

Fanny Howe followed Terrance. She admitted being still moved by his works. Maybe that was what held her back. It was my first real exposure to her extended reading. I had heard her during the sampler on Thursday evening. So disappointed with her reading that I immediately wrote and tweeted this:

sherku: Fanny Howe 

she reads
on and on
no break, no pause
which poem
ends where
only she knows
for sure

Thomas Lux and Jane Hirshfield read from their works restoring the evening to credible readings. Then the evening closed with a performance by Kurtis Lamkin.

Kurtis opened with "jump mama". The third time I heard this during this Festival and it is rich each time. He then was accompanied by a tip dance virtuoso; Maurice Chestnut

Maurice added percussion with his feet to create some memorable performances. You can view a sample of Maurice's work accompanying a jazz band at Lincoln Center




Without the space between each tap, without the timing/ the rhythm, this would be noise. Without the pause between poems, Fanny created only sounds of words. You can find those anywhere.



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