Observable Readings

Observations from the Audience

by Jeff Hamilton

Here are responses to a recent Observable reading filed by two members of the audience. They were solicited in an Art of Poetry class that I teach at Washington University.  -– Jeff Hamilton

Kimberly Metze                                                                      

At a St. Louis Poetry Center/Observable reading at the Schlafly Bottleworks on Nov. 11, I had the pleasure of hearing work by three very different poets. In a quiet room separated from the rest of the restaurant, this event was free of outside distractions. Heather Treseler began by reading "Flying Buttresses," which had her listeners imagining the full view of a warm, sunny day with a young girl riding her bicycle, lost in the sheer joy of flying down a hill, legs outstretched, feet free of the pedals. That image was stirred further in her reading of three very personal poems about time recently spent with a sister who is battling a serious illness. Two of these  poems sat the listener right in the waiting rooms of doctors’ offices, amidst the pain and anxiety, while a third had me, at least, twisting into impossibly yoga-like mind positions.  Treseler’s confidence in her work shown through her even-toned delivery and eye-contact with the audience.

The second poet was Jennifer Kronovet, reading from a newly published book, Awayward. Kronovet’s poetry is lyrical and easy to grow comfortable in. She has a style that allows you to focus on how words are linked together. In a group of poems with the title "The Institute of Classification and the Government Depart. Thereof," which, she claims, came from noticing a simple sign hanging from a wall, I noticed the humor in her poetry, but also the serious contemplation of the words we use to communicate with each other, often fallibly.      

After Kronovet’s easy style, Stephanie Brown jarred me. On the page, Brown’s poems can be acrid, yet they have a twisted humor it’s hard not to admire. A poem from early in her reading, called "Beach Glass," sums up my ambivalent attitude toward her poems. Is the dominant image in this poem that of a broken green bottle thrown carelessly aside, lying in wait to slice open the unsuspecting, innocent foot? Or is it of a shard worn smooth by time and the unrelenting ocean while it waits for someone, anyone, to pick it up, declare its beauty?  Brown’s persona has some of the quality of that piece of glass as she stands before her audience. 

A couple of times when moving from poem to poem, Brown voiced the opinion that the poems she had chosen were emotionally dark, and she claimed to want to move to lighter subject matter, but the balance was never found with any ease. She achieves a lighter side with "Camp," but slips into darker waters following this poem. What makes Brown’s poetry so interesting and wonderful to read is the sparks of humor in dark recesses of emotion.  A poem you read as wickedly funny may have her listener missing that same spark of humor in Brown’s flat delivery. However, if the listener buys into the idea that Brown is just as uncomfortable as s/he is, s/he can find redemption in the telling – in her performance. There is a very human connection within the uneasiness I felt at her reading.

In "Beach Glass" Brown curses the careless person with a "F--- You!" when they throw that sharp, broken green bottle down on the beach without a thought to the injury it may cause. As I listened to her read her poems, I came back again and again to that image.  So I was too the person at whom she curses.  Brown waits for that person to wander through  her poems and find that smooth, beautiful  piece of glass that has stood the test of time, and can still offer up hidden treasures. However, one should not miss the mixture of pain and pleasure that sharpened the edge cutting to the bone in Brown’s writing.

 

Jennifer Olin

Attending the Observable Reading at the Schlafly Tap Room was an incredible experience for me.  I have had the opportunity to see many types of live performance, in many professional theatres, and auditoriums, with artists of great fame and inspiration, and some so bad I could barely endure the experience. Fortunately, then, the Observable poets were enjoyable, and I would gladly return. The atmosphere of the room is relaxed and without pretension. Although I attended because of a class assignment, I have recommended attending future Observable events to my friends. I definitely believe that anyone could walk in off the street and not only enjoy the evening, but walk away with a better appreciation of poetry.

Heather Treseler was the first to read. She seemed to meditate on each poem, thoughtfully considering her presentation, and its affect on the listener. Her words blended into a smooth rhythm.  Her presentation was quiet and inviting.

Where Heather was meditative and quiet, Jennifer Kronovet was animated and engaging. Her poems were funny, thought-provoking. Her delivery was easy and relaxed, and she appeared to enjoy giving us the gift of her time and talent as an artist. The words were simple, but the message was strong. Even while I have never lived outside the United States, I could identify with her feelings of frustration in trying to communicate with someone in an unknown language. I visualized a wandering American, lost in the language and geography of a foreign country.

Stephanie Brown was the final poet to read. I had seen her on a YouTube video of a reading she’d given earlier in the year, and was expecting a stiff, expressionless delivery from that experience. Well, yes, she was stiff, and did appear more outwardly nervous than the other poets. However, this did not keep me from enjoying her presentation. Her subtle facial expressions and verbal inflections lent power to her words.  While listening to Stephanie, I began to think of poetry as a form of release from the pain of life. By writing about her personal experiences, these no longer belonged just to her, but to all of us. Having let go of the painful experience through writing poems, it seemed to me, it was   possible for Stephanie to stand before an audience and "report" on experiences that anyone goes through.