Website videos

[Neville Briggs]

I suspect it is true that in bringing our own voice to the written words, we tend to construct , to some degree, our own idea of the writers intention. ( No not post-modernist deconstruction ) I think a video like this is excellent as it gives the authentic presentation of the writer's intentions. That's got to be the best reading of the poem.

[David Campbell]

Thank you, Zondrae. I'll pass on your kind words about the technical quality to my daughter...she'll be delighted. (And I'll get to work on the poems )

Thanks, Stephen. I only gave the first one an intro in case people didn't understand the 'B&S ball' reference. Couldn't think of anything useful to say for the others, so I just let them speak for themselves. And I'll check with Deb about the direct YouTube access.

Good point, Neville, as I know that others would undoubtedly bring different interpretations to the poems. I certainly hope that my intention comes across, particularly with a poem like 'A Father's Prayer', which was written with my own daughters in mind. Interestingly, when watching the replay of the two humorous pieces, I realised that a stage performance with an audience would probably be much more upbeat because you feed off the audience reaction. The sound of people laughing really drives the energy of a comic poem.

Cheers
David

[Maureen K Clifford]

Have had my son here today refiguring my computer and adding in an extra 3 terrabyte of drive as well as a skype camera. For those who maybe don't know and I didn't - if you have a skype camera you can set up video clips with it - I don't know anymore re time allowed etc but my son did a little clip of himself to show me and the quality was very good.

[Terry]

Hi David,
I haven't had a chance to watch and listen but will shortly; but have listened to and enjoyed the CD that you sent me. It's interesting to read a poem yourself then hear the author actually recite it.
As I think I mentioned before it's obvious that you have put a lot of thought into the way you are going to recite each poem. Many of us; well me anyway, have a habit of just reciting a poem without really doing the necessary ground work first. I have taken a lot of notice of your efforts and I'm trying to learn a bit from them; my biggest problem is that I'm usually too lazy to bother and find it easier to go and try to write another one instead. Yet I would like to make a start at reciting, but if I'm going to do that, I'd like to try and do it well.

Maureen if you see this thanks for that bit about using skye to record a video; must have a go at it one day.

Terry

[David Campbell]

Thanks, Terry, glad you enjoyed the CD. And you’re right, I do put a fair bit of thought into the reading side of things.

One reason I’m pedantic about punctuation is that it provides the basic guidelines for reading/performing a poem…for example, a short pause for a comma, slightly longer for a semi-colon, and longer again for a full-stop. It’s vital for getting the breathing right, and then you can work on things like stress and cadence. Careful punctuation should help anyone who picks up the poem to gain some insight into how it should be read. It should also assist the natural flow of the lines, particularly with enjambment.

Greg North wrote a brilliantly comprehensive judge’s report for a recent competition, and one of the telling points he made was that your poetry should read the way you would normally speak: “If you wouldn’t normally say something that way, then it’s better not to write it like that.” He went on to give a number of examples of one of the most common errors, inversion, in which lines are twisted in order to force a rhyme.

Words can work on the page but die when vocalised, so it’s absolutely vital to ‘hear’ them as you write. I reckon the more practice we get on the presentation side, the better our written poetry will be.

Cheers
David

[Bob Pacey]

“If you wouldn’t normally say something that way, then it’s better not to write it like that.”


If that's the case why do we focus so much on metre ?


Bob

[Terry]

Hi David,
Some very good advice there.
One of the things I quickly noticed when I recently started to take a more serious look at reciting, was the need to have as you say the correct punctuation and to a non performer it's easy to overlook just how important that is.
As I think you mentioned, I'm sure that putting a bit of effort into reading your poems correctly can only improve your writing.
Greg Norths comments, sound like excellent advice as well.

There's one thing I would be interested in your opinion on. We are all striving to enhance our poetry with more poetic words and phrases. Perhaps it's my imagination, but it seem to me that in some cases there is a tendency to overdo it, even to the point where it detracts from the poem. But as I say perhaps it's just my interpretation.

Cheers Terry

[David Campbell]

We all probably overdo it at times, Terry, but opinions about poetry will always vary. What is 'too much' for one person may well be seen as 'beautiful and moving' by another. We all have different backgrounds, and so our responses to language will be very individual.

I guess the problem is most likely to arise when we move too far out of our comfort zones in trying to create an effect...maybe as a result of trying to imitate someone else. That's when something can detract from a poem because it seems so out of place, so 'not right'. It's not so much a case of finding "more poetic words and phrases", but rather the need to take the time to find the best way of communicating our own individual 'voice'. That's where the vocalising is important. Always ask: "Is there a more effective way I could have expressed this?" And by taking small steps along that path it should be possible to improve continually without jumping too far into something that simply doesn't work.

Cheers
David

[Terry]

Thanks David,

I'm sure you're right.

Rightly or wrongly I've always felt you have to write your own poetry in your own way, the trick is learning to do it well.

There's a lot good advice in what you have been saying here; for anyone who cares to take note.

Cheers Terry

[Bob Pacey]

I will ask again ?



“If you wouldn’t normally say something that way, then it’s better not to write it like that.”


If that's the case why do we focus so much on metre ?


Bob