WHAT DO PEOPLE GO TO POETRY READINGS

Why do people go to poetry readings?

If I say that I'm not fond of poetry, it's an understatement. I even wrote an anti-poetry answer here (“Poetry is dead!”). Nevertheless, I recently went to my first poetry reading.

It was a rather small event (about 30 people in the backyard of a local pub). With poetry, you clearly can’t attract the masses. While our poetess, a very smart and talented young woman, was reciting from her work, I took a good look at the people around me.

Our young poetess, Uresa Ahmeti, reading from her work.

Here are my thoughts on why I think they were gathered there:

Friends and family of the poet(s). More than half of the people knew the artist. Most of them were her friends from high school and university, the rest were family. I know that because she mentioned them all by name.

Other poets. Unlike people like me who are into prose, poets seem to be less jealous of each other. Maybe it's because they are all suffering from the same non-recognition of their efforts.

People who work in the pub. Our lovely pub manager was there and one of her staff members.

Guests of the pub. People like me and my buddies. I saw this quite often: when artists put their venue in a semi-public place, you get a crossover public. The beer drinkers listen to the poetry while the poetry lovers have a beer.

People who helped the poet or worked with them (patrons, publishers, editors, translators, etc.).

Often, you also have some journalists at these events but not in this case.

Last but not least:

People who like poetry. Yes, these folks do exist! An actress was sitting right next to me who has worked for the same TV production company I have worked for. I know that she loves poetry, and after the recital, I had a chat with her about it.

It must be said that for poetry, having the author recite their respective poems makes a big difference in how you perceive their work. It’s also interesting to learn how the poems were created, especially how the author felt when she wrote them down. With prose, it doesn’t matter that much.

Although I’m still not a fan of poetry, I didn’t regret going there. It was a good evening and quite a change from the usual bar atmosphere