Janet quoted Doug:
> It's really a question of socialization, though, don't you think?
> Wouldn't most of our poets find the demand for them to repeat a line or
> two, or the 'interruptions' a bit of a problem, throwing them off, &
> perhaps embarrassing to the poet as well...?
And then asked: >>Probably, if you're not expecting it. Presumably the
Pakistani poets pause in certain places to allow for audience response?<<
I think that the ghazal form lends itself to this kind of repetition because
each couplet is self-contained. Given a poem in another form, I don't think
that would work. You'd probably have to read the whole poem again. But I
also should say that I am not sure if the audience actually asks for the
poet to say the couplet again; it may be that the poet works off his or her
own sense of the audience response. There is also a standard way of reading
the ghazal that I have to get more information on, though this I was able to
garner, with some helpful explanation from my friend: They read the first
line and then repeat it before going on into the rest of the poem.
>>So Richard did you get any "vaah-vaah"s?<<
I did, actually, in the two ghazals that I posted here as snaps, and it was,
as I said, one of the most gratifying reading experiences I have ever had.
An organization I am affiliated with, Movement One, www.movementone.org, is
going to be putting on a Persian cultural event to mark the publication of
my book. I will be reading along with a friend of mine who has translated
Rumi. We are calling the night: Night of the Poets: Rumi and Saadi, and we
are thinking of having a mushairra at the end of it. I can't wait.
Richard
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