about pass on a poem
(The artist’s) appeal is made to our less obvious capacities: to that part of our nature which, because of the warlike conditions of existence, is necessarily kept out of sight within the more resisting and hard qualities...like the vulnerable body within a steel armour...The artist appeals... to that in us which is a gift and not an acquisition – and, therefore, more permanently enduring. He speaks to our capacity for delight and wonder, to the sense of mystery surrounding our lives; to our sense of pity, and beauty, and pain; to the latent feeling of fellowship with all creation - to the subtle but invincible conviction of solidarity that knits together the loneliness of innumerable hearts, to the solidarity... which binds together all humanity - the dead to the living and the living to the unborn. Joseph Conrad
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'I find great hope in that sense of connection with other people, the possibility that the worst experiences might be transformed into a place where we might meet and stand together. It happens. So often after a reading someone will come up to me, someone who has just heard a poem…and say, “You said how I felt.” We need that, I think, as a species ; we are the creatures which represent, which long to be represented….I am always looking to recognize my own experience in others’ work. That’s one of the things I love most…coming across a passage which says what I know but have never been able to say.' Mark Doty
how to take part and what to expect
pass on a poem was founded in 2006 to give as many people as possible the opportunity to enjoy more poetry and, in some cases, to discover its pleasures and uses for the first time. Believing that a very effective way to convey the excitement and value of poetry is to read it out loud, we organise or encourage and support live poetry events in intimate, informal and relaxed settings, whether at home, at work, in a hall, pub or club, or in an institution. People read out loud or just come along to listen to published poems chosen for their special, personal significance . No previous experience of either poetry or reading it live is required. Readings last for about one and a half hours maximum or less.
At the public readings, there are usually 15- 20 readers reading to audiences of between 25 and 50 people. Each reader is briefly introduced, and can take up to 5 minutes in which to explain why they have chosen that poem, and to read it. Readers are invited to explain the personal reasons for their choice rather than to analyse the poem in literary terms.There is no discussion of the poems afterwards, but all texts are posted on the website in its online anthology after each reading.
Here is BEL MOONEY'S account of the first reading, hosted by her, that took place in Bath. It is reprinted from her Saturday column in The Daily Mail on 28th March 2008:
"And finally...Poetry is the best medicine of the soul
A friend came to see me a couple of months ago and told me she'd been to a poetry reading in London, organised by Pass On A Poem (www.passonapoem.com).
This was founded by Frances Stadlen in 2006 - a non-profit making organisation which puts on jolly evenings purely for the joy of poetry read aloud by those "ordinary" individuals who love it. The website is brilliant, and has free on-line anthology, too.
My friend Tessa (publisher of the beautiful Barefoot Books for children) said she wanted to start Pass On A Poem in my home town, Bath. Next thing, I'd volunteered my house for the debut - and in no time, the evening came and (moaning quietly) we were rearranging the furniture to accommodate about 22 people, only three of whom were invited by me.
We put out the wine glasses, lit candles and at 8pm strangers began to arrive clutching poetry books.
How can I begin to tell you what a strange and special and wildly successful evening it turned out to be? People stood up, in turn, simply said why they liked the poem they'd chosen (short or long, serious or funny), then read it. That's all.
And if you think that sounds somehow "posh" or rarefied, think again.
There was laughter here, an intake of breath there, a "Wow" somewhere else. There was a wide range of poems and readers. I go to many places, do many different things - but can honestly tell you I haven't enjoyed myself so much in ages. "
To read a poem at an event, submit for consideration the text of a poem that you would like to share with brief details about yourself to enquiries@passonapoem.com Readers may not be the authors of the poem they choose. The poem must have been published in book or magazine form. Selection is determined only by the desirability of creating a varied and stimulating programme, so that members of the audience can hope to hear at least one poem that appeals to them or opens new doors. Past events have included readings as diverse as Chaucer, Shakespeare, American 19th and 20th century poets, Australian poets, the Harlem Renaissance poets, mid-century British and Irish poets, lyrics, rap, African, Asian and Caribbean poets writing in English, Milton, G.M.Hopkins,William Blake and many contemporary British and English language poets.
Advice is available to readers who would welcome it on reading out loud as well as support and encouragement to people wishing to set up poetry reading groups in their own homes and elsewhere. Contact us by phone or email, or search the website, to access an extensive range of information about poems, poets and many aspects of poetry. The website exists to encourage people to go deeper into any particular poem or poet they may already know of, or that they have heard at one of the readings, and to introduce visitors to the world of poetry performance, publishing and appreciation in Britain today.
How different readers introduce their chosen poem. We will be printing a selection of readers' introductions. There are as many ways of doing this as there are readers. Some concentrate entirely on the poem. Some refer their choice to an event, a person, or a moment of illumination in their lives. Some confine themselves to saying that they love their poem, and then let it speak for itself.
Here is Jane Darwin on her choice, The Journey of the Magi by T.S.Eliot :
"I wanted to read this poem because it seemed right for the time of year – Epiphany : the journey of the three Kings, the three Wise Men, to Bethlehem, just after Christmas, in terrible weather! And also because there are so many things about it that I love.
You can hear the voice of the old King as he looks back a long way to that journey. He seems to have been dictating his memories : the first five lines are in quotation-marks, as if perhaps his scribe is reading them back to him. And then the sound of his own words starts a train of reminiscences.
I like the realism of the journey : can you imagine anything more awkward than a disaffected camel lying down in melting snow? And as the travellers’ difficulties build up, and they become almost light-headed with exhaustion and lack of sleep, the rhythm becomes more and more frantic – until you wonder what it was that made them keep going.
When at last they come down from the wintry mountains, into the darkness of the valley not yet reached by the dawn, I love the way their different senses gradually make them aware of the change : first of the warmth in the air, then the splash of water, the smell of growing plants, and at last, as the sun rises, of what they can see – first against the sky and then nearer at hand. It’s very real, and it’s also a wonderful image of the change (from a Christian point of view) from the rigour of some of the older religions to the gentleness which Christianity ought to stand for. And every detail in that landscape has a link to the New Testament story.
The horrors of Herod’s revenge are just faintly adumbrated, while the rest of the journey is summed up in a couple of the flat, modern, almost official phrases which Eliot uses surprisingly now and then.
As the old King begins to ruminate on the meaning of the whole adventure, the line-breaks suggest his hesitations. He doesn’t understand what it was all about – or, indeed, why they did it at all – but he would do it again. He knows it was important: it changed something in him, for ever."
Comments by readers on the readings '...I was transported and fulfilled. The best thing was the lack of any pretension or sense that an effort was required - paradoxically a great effort was required but this was deeply pleasant. The people were so lovely - this mattered even though it's about poems. The poems were breathtaking and moving - elevating, enlightening, entertaining...I love the basic philosophy of just letting things interact'
'......I really enjoyed it. I haven't been to a poetry reading for a very long time... it might have been embarrassing, but it wasn't, at all. It might have been exclusive, but it wasn't at all. It might have been full of people who went on for far too long, but it wasn't, at all..... the sincerity was striking. I liked the span of ages among the readers, there was a wide range of poems, short, long, funny, sad etc, mostly well read, some very well read, some engaging and/or brave disclosures... there were poets I had never heard of, which was good.'
'I really enjoyed the reading on Monday - such a simple form of entertainment, and you can sense in the atmosphere that everyone appreciates the very original way of spending an evening. I was very touched by lots of the poems'
Thanks to you very much to finally find a place for me at the reading. I really enjoyed it! I had difficulties to be on time, it was a miracle that I could finally go. It was my first experience at these kind of events, and I loved it! I enjoyed a lot all the readers that I reached to hear.I am looking forward for the next one.!VIVA LA POESIA!
'That was such a successful and interesting evening'
'I enjoyed it all - such a simple idea, so effective'
'So interesting for each reader to read a poem and explain their choice. The best way to achieve a truly wide choice : far better than if one had tried to select a range of poetry for the occasion. And apposite for the writers of poetry not to be reading their own - but to have had to 'lift up their eyes to the hills' and look beyond themselves : exactly what it is about'
The variety was amazing...I liked the way the evening retained a homely, 'we're all friends here' vibe.'
from ASPHODEL, THAT GREENY FLOWER by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS
'My heart rouses
thinking to bring you news
of something
that concerns you
and concerns many men. Look at
what passes for the new.
You will not find it there but in
despised poems.
It is difficult
to get the news from poems
yet men die miserably every day
for lack
of what is found there.
Hear me out
for I too am concerned
and every man
who wants to die at peace in his bed
besides.'