University adjunct professor George Moore takes one last puff from his cigarette and puts it out as four of the students in his “The Making of Metaphor” class listen intently to what he says. It’s obvious they respect him, not only because of his position, but because of his philosophical perspective on poetry and performance and his genuine interest in his students’ work.
“It’s kind of a mix of editing and creating poetry … and public speaking, building confidence, getting a sense of tempo” and the act of celebration, Moore said of the course.
Throughout the term, this freshman seminar course has prepared for its live, experimental poetry reading, titled “The Sonic Photon Parade,” which will be performed Tuesday at 2 p.m., in the EMU Amphitheater.
At the event, named after a poem Moore wrote, the students will read and perform the poetry they created throughout the term. They will bang on bongos, dress in costumes, and create what Moore describes as an almost “psychedelic” poetic experience that blends the power of words with the “rollercoaster ride” of public performance.
Moore created the idea for the “Making of Metaphor” course by intermixing his background in poetry with his experience playing music and reading poetry as a street performer in New York, Boston, Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam.”It’s possible to have a visionary experience though poetry,” Moore said.
The daunting idea of reading original poetry in a performance at the end of the term weeded out more than half the class. The 23 to 25 students enrolled on the first day of class dropped by 10 on day two and leveled out at 11 students, Moore said.
“It’s going to be difficult, but it will be a lot less difficult because we have each other,” said Matty Evans, who stayed in the class.
Lindsay Mcinerny, another student in the course, said she feels sharing personal thoughts through poetry has brought the class closer, and that support is encouraging throughout the process of writing and performing.
The poetry creation process began with intense editing. Many of the students said they were shocked when their rough drafts were handed back cut down by more than half the original word length and filled with red pen marks.
“It’s frustrating at first, but it helps (to) cut to the point and the raw imagery,” said student Latara Valle.
Moore said after the students understood the writing and editing process, they became addicted to it as they moved on to the performance aspect of the class. All of the students interviewed said the performance was the most intimidating, but also improved the message of their work.
“It’s your tone of voice, the way you present yourself and body language and it’s who you are and (how you) express yourself,” said University student Jessica Sleczkowski. “It’s not so much the words but the tone and what (spectators) are feeling.”
Sleczkowski said the experience of reading and presenting work is different for everyone, and it can be emotional and also breathtaking to witness a classmate expressing his or her self this way.
Evans said what people take away from watching a poetry reading isn’t always the words and their meaning, but the way they are spoken and how the reader presents his or her self through movement and posture.
“In the end, you don’t remember ‘In the third stanza she said this,’ but you remember how she said it,” Evans said.
In order to understand how to express their poems though performance, the students examined the meaning of poetry and creating metaphors.
“There’s no predetermined concept that constitutes a poem before it’s written,” Moore said.
The experimental aspect of poetry is the same as in life, Evans said. He said he believes in figuring things out after experiencing them and not trying to go through life too fast.
“In my experience, poetry captures the moment,” Mcinerny agreed.
Moore said after watching the class evolve through the writing, editing and performing of poetry, he is confident they will do a wonderful job tomorrow. He and the students will be there to cheer each other on throughout the experience.
“I think a lot of (students) have gone through a lot of change,” Valle said, “and their poetry has matured and they are more confident.”
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What: The University freshman seminar course, “The Making of Metaphor,” taught by Adjunct Professor George Moore, presents a live, experimental poetry reading titled “The Sonic Photon Parade.”
When: Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Where: The EMU Amphitheater