Performance Poetry in the Age of Language

I attended a poetry reading on February 24, presented by Columbia College in Chicago. The venue was located at Stage Two of the 618 S. Michigan building. Edwin Torres is a highly-acclaimed performance poet from New York City, he was presenting “Performance Poetry in the Age of Language.” I attended this reading because it was being held after my classes that Thursday and conveniently located in the next building.

Stage two is a rather large auditorium with multiple sets of doors. As I was walking in, a woman handed me a thin book that was a free collection of poems. I was really excited that I received this for free because I can look for poems to add to my anthology. The venue was set up with a center aisle and rows of chairs on both sides, I quickly grabbed a seat close to the aisle in the back row. Behind me, machinery was set up to control the lights and sound and to my right a man behind a table was selling printed copies of the poets work. When the lights dimmed and the performance was starting, I noticed that many people were in attendance, at least 40-50 people.

After a short introduction, Edwin Torres took the stage and announced that he wouldn’t spend any time introducing each poem, he would just keep moving along. He was wearing baggy clothes with disheveled hair and long facial hair. He immediately jumped into reading poems and began with a smooth, calm tone. I noticed throughout the reading that Torres was very articulate and punctual with his words. He hardly paused and kept a good flow throughout each poem. Torres has a way of giving each poem a personality by using his tone of voice. I felt like each poem had a unique mood or setting. Torres had an interesting rhythm while reading certain poems, some were spoken smoothly using emphasis on the last word of each line. Other poems were sung or rhymed. I also noticed many of the poems were being told like a story, he would use a serious, narrative voice. I really enjoyed one poem, read in narrative style, about a father telling his son a story about the moon and the little boy’s friendly relationship with the moon.

Torres also used some provocative words and yelled loudly in some poems. While reading, Torres would use small hand gestures to emphasize some words of the poem. One of the most interesting poems he read had more of a performance effect. He began to play (on a CD player) a recording of repeating incoherent words that kind of created a beat. He began to recite a very dark passionate poem about love. This poem was rather long and would go from really intense to quiet and solemn. During this poem, the lights changed and went from dimmer white lights to bright blue and green lights.

From this reading I feel like I learned a lot about this poet. He mentions in a few poems that he has a Puerto Rican background and grew up in a working class family in America. He recites a poem that references his father’s death and how he died at a young age. He also recited a poem that referenced a song from “West Side Story,” I thought this was an interesting connection. I really enjoyed attending this reading. I never thought I would enjoy a poetry reading because I didn’t know what to expect. This reading opened my eyes to how interesting and artistic poetry really is. I think Torres has a wonderful way of bringing a tone and personality to each poem in a unique way. I think this variety was my favorite part of the reading, I found it to be so artistic and creative. I would have enjoyed the reading more if I didn’t have to leave early, I would have also liked to attend the reception afterward. It would have been interesting to meet Torres and see what kind of person he is off the stage. My perspective on poetry had completely changed by seeing this reading. I really look forward to attending another reading to see what else I can experience in the poetry world.