Time to Write and Read Your Poetry or Prose

I've discovered something new about writing. It's about reading your work, whether it's poetry or prose. There are a lot of poetry readings in the State of Maine, and I'm excited about getting involved in the "poetry circuit." Whatever state you're in, if you write, why not get out there and make a name for yourself? I did a poetry reading last week and I really enjoyed it.

I had excellent advice given to me by a famous author, Gerry Boyle. If you want to read a great mystery, pick up one of his books from Barnes and Noble. Anyway, my family goes to see Gerry talk about and read his books every chance we get. Gerry advised me to take it slow -- read slowly, savor it and enjoy it. That's what I did. I didn't read it at a snail's pace -- someone else did and I won't mention what I thought of it. But I read it slow enough to be understood but not slow enough to make a performance piece of it. There's a big difference, and unless you're really great at doing performance pieces, I would suggest you don't do it! There was one woman who was indeed a perfomance artist and it showed -- she was great. Reading slowly without having the right presence is just not fun for the audience.

Anyway, the bottom line is this: Google literature events in your state, including poetry and prose readings and put your state in the search line. If you're lucky, there will be something within an hour of where you live, or maybe even closer. Take advantage of it. If you're planning on making a name for yourself, there's no better time than now.