For a long time, I tended to write poetry in isolation, which had its benefits but also more drawbacks than I realized. I'd participated in several writing groups over the years, but to a large extent I plugged away at writing poetry and fiction on my own, viewing it as a solitary avocation.
As I've aged, I've come to recognize the fellowship and community in poetry. Nowhere was that sense of poetry as fellowship on display more than at Danez Smith's reading, along with two of his poet-friends, at the New York Public Library last week. Smith was celebrating the publication of Homie, his latest poetry collection which is a tribute to friendships that have helped shape him.
His fellow poets, Shira Erlichman and Angel Nafis, read before Danez and both are now on my gotta have their books list. But what struck me most about the reading was the sense of comradeship and camaraderie among the three writers. (Danez shared a story about sneaking into open mic readings at an Ethiopian restaurant in Minneapolis -- they were underage at the time and had to arrive when the restaurant was still open to avoid getting carded -- and then stay until the open mic started after restaurant hours). So often group or multiple reader poetry events evoke an undercurrent of friction, or perhaps a sense of competition between readers. Not so with Danez and his homies -- love was all around at this wonderful event.
If you have a chance to hear any of these three writers share their work, just go. You won't regret it.
No comments:
Post a Comment