I need to find all these bilingual events! After reciting a couple of my poems at the Powow (in the open mic session), I know how much worse I do in English. But maybe if I started with a poem in Spanish... I'd loosen up? Kudos, Tim, for the wonderful references to José Ortega y Gasset.

Tim, I'll add this to what's been said. Get behind the poem. Feel its emotions, see its images, and believe in its viewpoint. If you want to lead the audience into another world, you have to go there yourself.

Here's what I think is a great example, not from the poetry world, of a speaker and his words showing joint commitment. A flyfisherman and conservationist who lives near us, Ken Kirkby, is also an artist who is famed for a painting called "Isumataq", a massive work based on his experiences in the Arctic. This website describes it as follows:
Ken played a role in gaining the territory of Nunavut for Canada's northern first nations. In his speech to the Canadian Parliament, shown here, the weight of his commitment comes through in his last two words. No Wabash Cannonball "From the great Atlantic Ocean, to the wild Pacific shore" here. Canada has a third coastline in the north and he wasn't going to let that be forgotten.

John

Tim, I find your advice, to "First, you learn a lot by hearing yourself. You get ready for radio and TV and live performance by privately recording a lot and honestly critiquing yourself," quite interesting. I once attended a panel discussion led by Dana Gioia who, when asked by an audience member what advice he gives to poets, said "Record yourself reading before you read in public." That fascinated me, so I asked the panel, "How many of you listen to a recording of yourself before reading in public?" None of the poets, including Gioia himself, used his advice when preparing for a public reading.

I took his advice once, and it was a very sobering, scary even, experience.
Cheers wkg

Pedro, I'm sure your English is beautiful, and you should never be reluctant to read your poems. The advice to slow down and use the mic is right on.

Here the Spanish-speaking poetry events seem to outnumber the English, maybe because non-poets in this country don't appreciate poetry that much. Also there's a huge Hispanic population. Don't know if the Salvadoran event is bilingual or Spanish language only, but I'll be prepared to read something in English from the chapbook if there's a demand for it. The radio interview was in Spanish.

Carol

Maryann, I wouldn't use the flawed sound system, but then, I don't really need it. Here's our excellent podcast of your reading: http://www.ablemuse.com/erato/showthread.php?t=10430
Will, absolutely use tape to practice. I don't do it any more, but I sure did at first, and I've listened to dozens of hours of myself, most recently recording a nine hour archive of Selected Murphy (my first book is here at the Sphere: http://www.ablemuse.com/erato/podcas...parts1to4.mp3; and we edited the entire three hours of the Beowulf, a recording made a decade ago (wish I had the voice I had then!) You should listen to John Beaton's tape too, because he is a superb performer: http://www.ablemuse.com/erato/showthread.php?t=10317

Here's some advice from Leonard Cohen on "How to speak poetry".

Duncan

PS You can hear his new album here.

Can't wait to hear the new album. I hadn't known it was coming, so it's a nice surprise. Thanks for the heads up.

I have a few thoughts on readings at the end of this:

http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/q...elf-interview/

and also commented on the various pathologies around them in the latest New Walk--arguing, in brief, that they are too often seen as a networking tool and sneered at due to consequently not being very good far too often.