 |
 |
Hello Rip - >>>"Lawrence Upton" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Better to do that by judicious selection [...] your notes don't seem to allow for the posibility of any improvisation, multi-voice, mixed media or non linear work. Surely some mistake. In fact I'd go further and say that (with respect; and understanding - I think - what you're getting at) your guidelines seem altogether inimical to the ideal firing conditions of properly *live* performance. It is both pleasant and legitimate to invite your poets to pre-show refreshment and some statement about particular needs. Yet most poets who really have thought about what it means for them to read their work in a live audience-facing setting will have many particular needs which are not about veganism or wheelchair access but about the freedoms and constraints that they individually identify as being most likely to bring about a really live (living, livid, unpredictable, unrepeatable, sensitive, revelatory, contingent, partial, individual) event. To be a good host you have to make room for your guests to behave pretty much as they see fit. I worry that, for example, your hygenic approach would have sought to prohibit all of the wonderful noise and garbage and extraneity that not only characterised but absolutely enhanced Ben Watson's performance with his loose cannon mate Gamma at SVP on Tuesday. It may not be satisfactory for most audience members if a poet reads in a subaudible monotone, but I think it's worse to tell poets that they may not do so, as perfectly reasonable (or reasoned) tactical or effective choices may be behind it, which nobody should seek to circumscribe. What you do, quite properly, have control over is the poets that you invite - though if you don't wind up with a real woofer every so often, an important part of the idea of the benefits of liveness will have somehow become lost, and I suspect your regular audience would come to feel cheated. Maybe the invitation might simply encourage poets seeking further advice on what sort of thing *seems* mostly to work adequately well? Pardon this's manifestation in the front garden, but it's part of my ongoing project to encourage some listmembers to let go of the will to control things which can't be controlled. Hope this helps (and provokes a torrent of contradiction), :cx -------------------------------------------------- Chris Goode Director, _signal to noise_ 24 Newport Road London E10 6PJ +44 [0]20 8556 4492 [log in to unmask] "God respects us when we work, but loves us when we dance." ____________________________________________________________________ Get free email and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=1 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%