Advice on Reading Poetry

Common-sense advice from last Saturday's workshop.

Always prepare in advance for your reading.
Try practising in front of a mirror and time yourself.
Prepare what you are going to read carefully and have it in order, as shuffling papers or looking for poems on the podium does not instil confidence.
Never read beyond the required time.
Long poems rarely work in a reading but never in a short reading.
By all means explain a term or an incident in a poem but don’t over explain the poem.
A poetry reading is not a story telling session, however, a few words between poems can aid the poems reception.
If a subject is very emotionally sensitive for you it might not be best suited to a public reading environment.
Generally speaking, singing or encouraging audience participation usually doesn’t work.
Never say you are going to finish with three more poems, it is sufficient to say this is the last poem.
Read a selection of poems that show your range of abilities.
One of the best ways to improve your reading presentation is to attend other readings.

On to Limerick tonight to put all that into practice!