Performance Poetry
(Adapted from: A Theory for Art)
Real poetry lives in the written word
More durably than in the spoken phrase
Which sounds superb, but makes no sense when seen.
Rich quality of thought, clearly expressed
In telling composition, has more worth
Than oratorical charades, (performed
Persuasively by authors’ tutored tongues),
Which are ephemeral in their effects.
The language, not the accent, fixes tone:
And style, not mannerism, makes it great.
Performance, in itself, is not enough
To make a poem memorable for long.
No cheap vulgarity nor specious wit
Can compensate for patent lack of class,
(Nor weakness of inadequate technique),
When laid exposed to intellect’s critique
Upon the uninterpretive white sheet.
Poems must also live upon the page,
(No less effectively than in the ear),
If they aspire to permanent regard.
For future generations will not hear
The vocal subtleties an audience
Responds to during live performances.
They must rely upon the written texts
In order to evaluate their worth.
So if the formal structure of the lines –
Their diction, grammar, punctuation, style –
Inhibits understanding, then that work
Will not for long outlive its author’s death
And therefore will be lost with hez last breath.
