I may have mentioned this earlier -- oh, probably have a blog post or an
essay about it -- remember having a conversation about it with Mairead
Byrne --
being asked to memorize poetry in college and graduate school, and having
it recommended as a practice for my own work, especially in performance,
has not only been a near-impossibility for me, but also distasteful,
because of all the prayer memorization and testing in catholic school. I
remember clearly the ten commandments tests in 3rd grade -- lucky Therese
Heimbold, a year behind me, was given a ten commandment bracelet --
certainly an example for poetry jewelry --
the nightmare began with Sr. Josephine asking everyone memorize "a
commandment" -- I picked the fourth. Lo and behold, she meant "memorize
the first commandment." Failed that test. They'd changed the sixth
commandment to "Thou Shalt be Pure."
The Act of Contrition was also pretty grueling.
The confiteor is the source of my long poetry project.
I read the amendments to the constitution into a loop tape and played it
over and over at night in hopes of subliminally memorizing.
Mrs. Vandercar tried her best to get us to do image-based memorization in
order to get the books of the New Testament "to heart."
By the time I captained the scholastic bowl team, I was wise enough to get
a ruler which had all the presidents listed on it. I used Authors cards
like Flash Cards.
But Chaucers' Tales proem?
In the Buddhist monestery, all the four noble this and eight of the other
thing and 12 links in the chain of whatever -- how much sheer repetition
"religious teachers" wasted on that.
It is the one aspect of poetry in performance that actors have an edge on,
but ... I do prefer performance art to "performance poetry." Page, stage,
hasn't anyone else seen a staged reading? The value of a cold read/table
read?
Oddly, as a type this, I'm only realizing now that I have always compared
poetry memorization to prayer or fact memorization, rather than to
memorizing a piece of music. Improvisation, orchestra vs. band -- whole
nest of stuff here which certainly must have a bearing on memorizing
poetry.
All best,
Catherine Daly
travelling
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