While editing the new book I’ve been doing something I wish I’d done more of when I was editing “The Love Thing” — reading the work aloud. Luckily for me, the Bay Area, where I live, is home to at least three places (or at least three places that I know of) that host an open forum for poets and authors to read their work. By reading aloud into a microphone in front of strangers (and rehearsing it aloud beforehand), I think I’ve managed to “hear” what works and what doesn’t.
I’m now practicing reading into my iPhone and hearing my voice come back to me. As I get closer to publication I’ll start posting snippets from the new work. In the meantime I hope you enjoy me reading from the very first paragraph of “The Love Thing.”
The Love Thing – First Paragraph
I currently read in three locations: Clive Matson’s Drunk on Poetry, Smack Dab in the Castro, and Queer Open Mic in the Mission. I’ll be writing about all three of these places in future posts. Meanwhile, if anyone out there knows of any other free open mics, please drop me a line.
