|
My general reaction to the
Literary Festival was somewhat apathetic. Because I am not the
type of person who loves to read, or even someone who likes
poetry, I was not sure I would find anything that would
stupefy me. However, I was told to look through the Literary
Festival Guide and pick out one or two events that might
interest me.
Upon looking for an event, I
overheard several other students talking about "Universes,"
one of the many acts being performed that day. I decided that
the group spoke highly enough about the event that it
intrigued me. Several other classmates were attending the
event, thus making it easier to sit through if I was totally
bored. I expected much less out of the performance than what I
got. I anticipated a bunch of African-American males dressed
in baggy clothing preaching good family morals. I was not sure
I was going to even be able to sit through the performance.
Basically, my expectations of the show were not very high. I
honestly thought it was going to be just another group singing
and dancing and telling us not to do drugs or have sex. This
was not the case.
I was very satisfied and even
uplifted by the words that were spoken during the act. The
actors were not afraid to bring the play down to a college
level. The use of profane language and crude body expressions
really added spice and excitement to the poems that were being
recited. Not only did the words have a major impact on me but
the people who voiced them did as well. The group was very
diverse, with a Caucasian male, Hispanic female, two
African-American men, and a Puerto Rican male.
I was very impressed that there
was an African-American Jew in the group. Being Jewish, this
helped me relate to the actor much more, and it was easier for
him to get his point across to me. Although I did not enjoy
the songs that the Hispanic lady sang because they were in
Spanish and I did not understand them, she had a dulcet voice
that rang through the crowd. It was very pleasant. I just wish
that she could have spoken in English so I could have
understood what she was saying.
I really liked how a lot of what
they spoke about could be related back to the poems and
stories we are reading.
One of the actors read a poem
about how he was confused between his two heritages. This can
be compared to "Moving Camp Too Far," "Where I Come From Is
Like This," and "Private Property." All these works have in
common the fact that the characters are torn between two
cultures. Even though the performance was not meant to reflect
the works of literature we have been reading, it made it
easier to hold my attention. My favorite line in the
performance was "love spelled backwards is ‘evol.’" I thought
that was very creative. This performance exceeded my
expectations by far.
Going to that presentation made
me consider going to another event to see how it compared.
When flipping through the catalogue, I came across Mark Doty’s
name and profile. Although at first I was only intrigued by
his name, I later became interested in his works. Reading the
line "Mark Doty persistently seeks the richness of individual
complexity" made me think that all of his works were about
life-changing experiences. To me this sounded like a person
who is run by shattering events of his childhood that have
inevitably led him to become a poet, where he can express all
of his pent-up emotions. Judging a book by its cover, I
decided that he was a white male
who probably had little to complain about. Going to this event
felt more like a chore than a voluntary choice. That being the
case, I was not excited to go see a man speak about his past
without having any knowledge of his works or life.
After sitting through an hour of
Mark Doty’s memoirs and poems, I now have a better
appreciation for literature. Like I said earlier, I am not the
type of person who likes to read, but after listening to Doty
I went to the library to find his books so I could get started
on them right away. He read an excerpt from his memoir "Candy"
that almost brought a tear to my eye. The vivid details of his
grandmother’s "pocketbook," or purse, brought me back to my
own grandmother and the wild things that she carries in her
purse. The imagery he uses is so picturesque that I felt like
his grandmother was on stage with him, performing the acts he
was describing. His poems, however, did not affect me in quite
the same way. It was very hard for me to follow his poems and
understand the metaphors expressed in his poem "Letter To
God." Other than that, I was thoroughly impressed by his
works.
I am very happy that I attended
the Literary Festival, and my expectations of all the events I
attended were exceeded, making me a newly attentive reader. I
am, however, disappointed that our school bookstore does not
carry any of the works by any of the authors and poets
presented at the festival. That is the only complaint I have
about the festival. I really hope to go again next year with
even higher expectations.
| 
Print Article
