6. CODA:
The importance of reading poetry aloud in front of an audience.
Because I stutter, I feel like I have a duty to go out into
the world and share my poems by showing promising poets that if I can do it,
stand up here read my verses and stuttering through each one, you can succeed
to. I was speaking to a poet a few days ago and she is a published poet who had
never read her poems aloud. Going out and reading your poems is so important.
Yes, it’s frightening but its also empowering for yourself and the audience. I
am lucky to be able to spend the valuable hours I have left on the planet doing
the thing that I love. Crafting, Writing, Revising and Reading my poetry. My
advice to any young poet, go to readings and read your poems on stage in front
of a crowd. It is life changing.
I remember the moment, in the middle of a poetry reading in
Burbank, as I read the poem “She Pours Me With Her Eyes” included in my poetry
book Flashes & Verses, I felt my voice becoming one with my words. Even
though I was terrified, the moment changed everything for me. I discovered my
calling in life. A few years later I was accepted into the MFA program at
Antioch University Los Angeles. And five years after acquiring my MFA, after
having over a hundred poems published, my first full-length poetry collection
was published this year. All this happened because I faced my fears and went up
behind the microphone and read that poem. My future changed the moment I spoke
up and read my poem. For those that have the nerve to question the power of
poetry. Poetry saved me and changed my life. What are you waiting for? That
poem you are scared to read might just change your life. Step up and let your
voice be heard on and off the page. On the stage is where I found my voice. And
I am loving the sound.
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