Tonight I was the featured reader at a college-sponsored coffeehouse event.
It’s been awhile since poetry was my primary focus, so I had a little case o’ the ‘noives’ earlier today.
For one thing, why did every poem in my file seem to conjure up rain or derelict housing or both? And also, how many pieces should I read, and do I have anything funny (or at least pithy), and jeans or jodpurs? Y’know, the usual questions.
So, to top it all off, my husband had to work late which meant the girls were coming along. My own built-in audience, ages 6 and 8. Thankfully, they brought a big bag of markers and construction paper, and the chocolate chip cookies at the coffeehouse were about the size of their heads.
It was humid, and that’s an understatement. We sat in between cloud bursts, on a covered back patio, every table taken. There was a pretty good lead in, giving me plenty of time to panic, but instead I just settled deeply into the whole deal so that by the time I stood at the mic, I wasn’t woozy or dry mouthed at all.
I read for awhile – a couple of pieces of prose that would ring awfully familiar to my blog audience – and then a number of poems, a few of which didn’t feature rain at all. Not even a sprinkler. I was nearly finished before I realized that my elder daughter had crawled up to the front, skittered in between the tables, and was hunkered down on the concrete – just soaking it in. My younger patted me on the head, and then the knee, and then the head again when I sat back down.
They were rapt. So much so that we stayed through the open mic – way past their bedtime. At home, the 6-year-old showed me the vivid, ankh-like piece of art she’d done while listening. The 8-year-old read the haiku she’d written on the spot.
“Can we come to your next reading, too?” the little one asked.
The big one nodded. And so did I.
Wahoo! Your little ones are going to remember this for a long time. I bet they are so proud of you.
It was great. A really good reminder that I oughta share all aspects of my creative life with them — not just the kids lit.
I’ve been wanting to check out some of those poetry slams held around Austin. I could never get up there and read a poem, at least not one of my poems. But would be cool to attend.
Don
http://devast.blogspot.com
I only read because I’d been asked to. Otherwise I would’ve wiggled out. 🙂
aw shucks, Kath…