POETRY AND THE PENDEMIC: ENTER TV

 

     The Pandemic has inspired all kinds of changes in communication because we now stay home to send and receive messages. Consider obvious alterations, like no theatre-going or film - viewing so we can avoid direct contact with crowds. In fact, we can't enjoy other performing art forms as usual either, where groups congregate, such as concerts and ballets. Simply put, there are no more live audiences, or at least, a lot less of them.

     What about changes in other kinds of art forms?  Poetry, for example, doesn't usually need an audience, yet accommodations must be made to deal with people who do not have access to book stores and libraries yet want to read or listen to poetry readings. Enter TV where individuals reciting poetry is possible. At Joe Biden's Inauguration, Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman made a significant impression with her poetry  (as did Maya Angelou did with President Clinton's similar celebration ). 

     Local writer, artist and poet Haim Mizrahi is no newcomer to TV and poetry. He has been reading his work on East Hampton's public access TV for years ( via a program 

 called "Hello, Hello"),  and inviting other poets to join him in the TV studio at 7 am. While the early morning hour presented challenges for sure, Mr. Mizrahi decided to change the poetry writing process as well - creating poetry live and on-air. The result was entirely spontaneous. Joanne de Simone, a playwright and prose writer, became his creative partner, and together they have been producing works for the last year. Their subsequent collection is called "Slipcover' and will be ready soon for publication.

     Writing poetry in normal circumstances can be dauting: it usually requires concentration, an inspiring environment, and ideas / feelings that usually develop over time. But what about an atmosphere that is not conducive to concentration ( including a TV studio with electronics spread about and sounds that filter in and out ), not to mention a process which is disconcerting?

      Mr. Mizrahi and Ms. de Simone took on the challenge anyway, beginning each day's writing by throwing out a word and going from there. Ms. de Simone remembers that one time she said she had no idea about what to write, adding that she didn't get to sleep until 3 am that night. Consequently, her poem's title was ," I Didn't Get to Sleep Until 3 am."

     Calling such a process "stream of consciousness" perhaps doesn't matter in the end. What initially strikes a reader, therefore, is the differences between the poets' works and how the process might influence their individual efforts. First, differences. Mr. Mizrahi takes a more intellectual approach to his content, one might even say, a more "philosophical" way of seeing the world. The experiences he recounts are often those of the mind, yet he also confronts feelings as he questions life and what drives individual behavior. Titles, like "Unyielding," and "Succumb," are important to Mr. Mizrahi. They offer a clue as to what drives this poet, what makes him tick. Of all his poems, however, Mr. Mizrahi's "Oh Boy" is the most dramatic, short and loving as it is. And it is also the most relatable to an audience, even though we must imagine the viewers who are watching.

     Ms. de Simone, on the other hand, deals more with emotional experiences, often concerning the senses ( primarily sound ) in addition to her past. Some various examples are " Heart Miles," where music plays a thematic role.  In "He's Alive," the poet shows how several senses are salient. A particularly potent work, " Sunday Lost," looks at the poet's sentimental past and connection to the senses. Countering this with " There is No Music in Hell" proves that Ms. de Simone thrives on contradiction ( between joyful and conflicting experiences).

     Regarding how the poets' unusual process inspires their work,  we probably could not come up with succinct examples. No matter. "Slipcover" is well worth an audience's attention. With or without TV.