How Do I Read My Poetry? (Another Sample!!)

Today I left my contact info to a few more libraries, in hopes to get in a poetry reading or two before I head off to college (YEAH!). In order to keep a positive attitude that they would say YES this time, I decided to practice reading one of my poems as if I were reading it in front of other people.

And it was awful.

Maybe I'm too hard on myself sometimes. Okay, correction: I am too hard on myself sometimes. But even so, I think it's important to recognize where there is a need for improvement, which I was able to catch a glimpse of today.

The funny thing is, I've read my poetry aloud in front of other people. In seventh grade, I was a member of the forensics team! (Didn't win anything though. What a shame.) I've been doing musical theater for six years and plan to continue, which involves reading and interpreting lines which, like poetry, are strings of letters and words and phrases which mean something! And yet no matter how hard I tried to keep a certain pace, tone, or to put emphasis how and where needed, it just...didn't...sound right.

If you have any videos and/or articles on poetry reading/forensics, please comment below, I would appreciate it greatly. Also, if you have any other articles related to writing a book proposal (including any of the individual parts of one), please include them as well.

In the meantime, here's a piece of the poem I tried to read earlier today:

I tend to keep my head down

Whenever I’m in that place

For I can’t stand to look you in the eye

While these emotions still remain.

A very glance at an empty room

From which I leave so drained...

How can you expect me to feel something else

While these emotions still remain?

I feel like I’m drowning, I am appalled

At the emotions that remain

And I have to say, it’s not easy to explain

Why I can’t look at you the same.

---

Emotions That Remain by Courtney Justus is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

---

Please feel free to ask any questions you like and leave any suggestions you might have. I would be happy to hear them :)

Enjoy the rest of your week!

PS: My other blog is cjustusbookrecommendations.blogspot.com. I write reviews of books I've read and liked. If you have any book recommendations, feel free to comment here or on my other blog! I'd love to look into them. ;)