You'll have reading material to last a long time when you purchase The Weight of Addition, an anthology of Texas poets published by Mutabilis Press, founded and managed by Bob and Carolyn Florek. I haven't been to a poetry reading in years, but recently participated in the poetry reading in Denton, Texas, that featured poets published in The Weight of Addition. I had forgotten how nice, how inspiring, how dramatic, and how essential it is to hear poetry read aloud.The reading took place at the Center for Visual Arts in Denton, a lively and vibrant center for the arts in this university town, a center that truly serves the community with visual and performing art. If you live nearby, think about becoming a member, or at least pay a visit to see the exhibits by renowned artists in many media.
The next reading featuring poets published in TWOA will take place at Follett's Intellectual Property (what a great name for a book store) in Austin, Texas, Friday, April 25, 5 p.m.
You should come. Why, you ask?
Well, here is one reason I have for why I plan to attend. At the end of the Denton poetry reading, I was struck by how the words we read aloud changed the space around us. According to the particular poem read and according to how it was read by its author, the words would soften, open, deepen, animate, even quiet, the space. The words united us, the audience, as we listened--together--leaning forward in our chairs. When the afternoon came to a close, I found myself thinking two thoughts in rapid succession. The first: Poets can change the world, can reroute it, even when that possibility seems impossible, undoable, unapproachable. And the second: We are the world, we poets, we introverts who all went to the back of the stage when it was time for a group picture. And it's a good world, by and large, the one poets make.
So, why not visit that world for a dose of poetic change at Follet's on April 25, the 25th day of National Poetry Month.
Comments