Let's see.. T.S. Eliot, Yeats and Whitman, for starters.

I don't loathe the slam - but I do consider it the rough, awkward cousin of the proper poetry reading. A poetry reading ought to be approached much as a religious service - and I don't mean a stodgy Anglican mass or Methodist service, but rather an AME revival or a voudoun feast. Poetry is life, and poetry readings ought to be vital and full of life.

Back in the good ole days, I ran a number of poetry readings, and can even be credited with (or must share the blame in) the "slam-o-lution" of the 1990s. There are two keys to having a good poetry reading: the first is to schedule at least two "headliners," poets whose work - and performance - are above the median. The second key to a good poetry reading is to limit your "open mike" time (if you have any at all, that is). Allowing untested poetry performers to have free reign at a microphone is simply asking for trouble. That's of course the "original work" poetry reading.

The kind of reading Kimley mentions, where people bring and read works by other authors, carries a much greater return on investment. The participants are sharing their love of poetry; this often leads to new discoveries. But it's a good idea to load the group with a few ringers, people who consistently choose good work and who can read poetry well.

The performance part is not to be underrated. Too many poetry readings (of both kinds) are brought down by inept readers and performers. People who think the end of a line equals a caesura, for example. Or who force a false metre on the line, hammering the words. Or who stare at the page while reading, never once engaging eye contact with the audience. Or who read with blatantly false, rising and falling "emotive" qualities in their voice (like many bad slam poets).

This is where I can credit the slam for giving poetry an assist: long before I went to my first slam I was tired to near-death of dry, academic poetry performances. Slam revived the interest in poetry as performance, and being an old bard, fond of the traditional bardic ways, I consider the delivery of a poem essential to the full experience of the poem. I fully subscribe to the notion that poetry, deriving directly from chanting (cantos), is still akin to a magic spell, which when properly cast can provide the listener with an experience of the Otherworld.

The competitive aspect of the slam, where performances are scored and judged, does not appeal to me. I don't find that the scoring or contest aspects of slam do anything to promote poetry or enhance the performances. But then I am not a person who puts much stock in the competitive ways of humans.

Yes: Cole Porter was indeed a wonderful poet.

And a final note: cinema discussions in this group/thread will be flagged as abuse and deleted. Count on it.

I agree, poetry readings can be a dangerous gamble. The odds are not in our favor. But on the rare occasion when the reader/material are good, it's really worthwhile. So much of what I respond to in poetry is the sound of it. I'll often read poetry aloud to myself.

I loathe slam poetry! Also I am not sure if I like poetry readings in general - it really depends on the reader and their material. I much prefer the poem on the page. Mallarme sort of deals with that subject matter in itself. He is the Marcel Duchamp of poetry. In fact he is a favorite of Duchamp's.

Duchamp credits Mallarme as well as Raymond Roussel with respect to his 'own' work.

Some of my favs - Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Mallarme, Rilke though I haven't read any of them in ages except I recently pulled out the Mallarme which is just beautiful.

On a side note, for those who know Tosh... back when he used to do poetry readings, he always included a Cole Porter piece. It was always fantastic. Porter was most assuredly a wonderful poet. And I have to say Tosh's own poetry is incredible as well. Thankfully, he's still very much alive!

Do people do poetry readings anymore? And I don't mean that crap "slam poetry" stuff. OK, I shouldn't be so judgemental as I've never actually been to one of these. I haven't been to a reading in ages.

John Waters? A poet? We totally f**ked up goodreads because we spend the time arguing about films on this site. No, John Weiners. Do you know his poetry. He was a friend of my parents, but beyond that an amazing and important American poet. Really!!

yeah, tosh knows his shit. i'd add cole porter to mine. easy.
does john waters count?

My favorite: Frank O'Hara, Tristian Tzara, Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Cendrars, Serge Gainsbourg, John Weiners

mine is larkin.

My favorite dead poet is Rimbaud.