I have never had the privilege of hearing Creeley read. But once I sat in on
one of JH Prynne's classes and heard him read a few poems, including one by
Creeley, and I remember that very clearly indeed. It was fantastic; the
poem became material, hanging in the air in all its poemness. All you had
to do was listen, and all he was teaching was how to listen. When the poem
finished he let a silence stretch longer than seemed possible, the poem
resonating within it. The whole lecture was like a play by Beckett: I
thought Prynne understood performance very well indeed, and I can see why
he's an inspiring teacher of poetry.
As for Famous Seamus; I heard him read a few years ago. It was a good
reading, clear and energetic and unpretentious (I like Pierre's label,
Excellent Professional Irish Poet). I too like the early work; Peter Riley
once described the later work as "senatorial", which stuck in my head
because it's so apt. But Kavanagh is something else.
I went to hear another Excellent Professional Irish Poet once who explained
the circumstances behind each poem, and then the verse structure of each
poem, and how many lines it was, before he read the poem, and it made me
wonder why he bothered reading it all. I'm not sure about the chaffy
anecdote stuff, but on the whole I like my whiskey straight.
Best
A
Alison Croggon
Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
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