Performance Poetry

Performance poetry is simply poetry which is specifically composed for the purposes of performing it to an audience, or which, at the very least, acknowledges an audience.

I have heard performance poetry defined as ‘poetry which is intended to be read aloud, or which sounds better when read aloud’ but, for me, this does not quite explain it fully, as so many poems are improved when read aloud with feeling, expression and tone.

As I had no formal training in poetry and did not begin writing until I was 38 years old, I found that I was writing poems and learning about the different poetry forms as I did so, so it was not until I started visiting schools and selecting poems to read to the children that I noticed that some of my poems lent themselves to be performed and others did not, so that’s how I began to understand better. So……

What Makes A Good Performance Poem?

There are many different factors but, for me, I love a good story!

The poems which I wrote for my own amusement as silly story poems seem to naturally interest the children too. A favourite at the primary schools was a story poem that I wrote with a surprising twist in relation to the title. (My Sister is a Bookworm).  The performance obviously adds to the dramatic effect for them. Which is why so many of us read bedtime story poems to the children, like “The Gruffalo’s Child” for example.  It’s meant to be read aloud, because it’s better that way!  Which, of course, brings me to the fact that the performance has to suit the audience!

A good performance poem will be appropriate and relevant to those who are watching / listening to it.

Another favourite in the primary schools is the poem “I Can’t” which tends to be a feeling that many of us, adults and children alike, can relate to.  This makes it an excellent poem to study with children, particularly age 9/10 year olds, as it highlights how important language is to a performance poem in terms of relating to the audience.  Nowhere in the poem are children mentioned, yet they always recognise that the poem is aimed at them, especially when asked to study the first line…”Can I ask a little question?”.  They recognise that the use of the word ‘little’ would not be appropriate with adults, or even with the same group of children in a year or two’s time when they would consider it patronising!

A good performance poem uses appropriate words and language.

As mentioned above, one word can make all the difference to a performance poem.  In the case of the above example, I rewrote the first verse of “I Can’t” for different circumstances, and simply by using a slightly different phrase and intonation, the children could recognise which version used more appropriate language for a teenager, or a husband, as opposed to the original poem being written with an audience of children in mind.  My Royal Trilogy poems are perfect for discussing language choice for a performance poem (not to mention that they are packed with examples of figurative language such as alliteration and word play.)   A Royal Pardon started the trilogy simply making the obvious joke via word play, but I set myself the challenge of using as much alliteration and consonance as possible with the poem.   I was asked how the queen might respond if she saw the poem, so I wrote a letter poem called The Royal Reply, imagining it to be written by the queen, so the language was entirely different!  Next, my young son nervously asked me if you could still be hung for treason!  This inspired the final letter poem called The Royal Apology which is written in a nervous, apologetic style using the Queen’s English in a contrived way (and, of course, retaining the use of lots of word play!)

Performance poems often include lots of tone and expression

Naturally, by including exclamations and intonation, a poem will be better performed than read alone in silence.  The expression can be felt more, and the important points can be stressed appropriately.  The campaign poems that I wrote in an attempt (unfortunately, as yet, unsuccessful) to get Tesco’s to sell only fairtrade bananas, are all written in a strong, opinionated style, so the expression comes across more effectively as a performance. (See fairtrade campaign poems)

An obvious performance poem is one written for Mother’s Day, Harvest or even Christmas

For examples of these, click here to see my Harvest poems, or click here for my Mother’s Day poems, or here to see my 25 minute Christmas play scripts written as performance poems.

How to write performance poetry.

• As with all poetry, if it matters to you, you are more likely to express yourself well.  Choose a subject that you can do well; tell a story, share an opinion, do some ‘wondering’ about a topic that bemuses you, share something that you find funny etc.

• Use figurative language effectively.  For example,  alliteration can be effective because it is all about sounds working well together (but be careful that you don’t give yourself any tongue twisters!)  Imagery is good; help the audience to imagine the scene.  Use exclamations and strength of feeling if that’s the effect that you want to get across (as per the Fairtrade campaign poems mentioned above).  Ask questions as part of your wondering aloud.  It’s a good way to draw in your audience because they will start to wonder too.

• Don’t assume that it has to rhyme just because mine do!  There are lots of different poem forms, so find which works for you.  Bear in mind that some will not be as effective without the visual effect of seeing the words on a page.  For example, an acrostic is effective on a page, but if it was performed the audience wouldn’t notice the initial letters of the poem line (unless you maybe used a visual aid of some sort to highlight it as you performed.)

• Imagine a performance related situation to help you get the atmosphere of the poem.  I wrote a circus rap as a performance poem, and it came naturally because I began with the ringmaster, a natural performer….eg  “Introducing the magical, marvellous fab…the wonderfully wicked circus rap!”  This is a great style to copy and build upon, particularly as there is also lots of alliteration automatically included in the language used.

• Watch other performances and learn the way I did; through experience as well as teaching.  Practise wondering aloud,  story telling, expressing an opinion, and all of the things that are naturally intended to be done for an audience, and add in the poetic elements once you have got a performance style.

• Advice specifically for the story poems: I find that I do not have a detailed imagination, so when I wrote “My Sister is a Bookworm” I let the rhyming lead me and it got sillier and sillier….I wrote nonsense, with no logic to what I was describing!  Whilst that works for a nonsense or an alien poem, it wouldn’t work for a factual one, so I suggest that you find ways to get detailed with your poems…..
• Brainstorm ideas and details:  Close your eyes, and go through your senses.  imagine smells, sounds, sights, the resulting feelings, touching something, feeling the breeze, seeing the effects of the breeze etc.  Brainstorm ideas and just write your random thoughts and expressions on paper as quickly and un-organised as they come to you.  Once you have your ideas, build on them and add alliteration and strong adjectives and imagery to the phrases and ideas; then you are ready to start ordering them and filling the gaps as you do. The more detailed you get, the better and more effective your descriptions and stories will be.

If you would like to know more about performance poetry, click here for some of my examples of performance poems.