Poets are not mostly profligates - or fools, according to poet Joan Retallack, who read the phrase from her work in progress entitled "Reinvention of Truth." "Then what the hell are they?" she wondered.
On Tuesday night, an audience in the McCormack Family Theater heard such thought-provoking phrases interspersed with vivid visual images. Resident poet Retallack shared excerpts from three of her projects with about 30 students, faculty and community members.
Each reading revolved around the idea of who a poet really is and what importance poetry has in the world. Despite having published seven books of poetry and two of criticism, as well as winning the America Award for her piece "MUSICAGE," Retallack's uncertainty over the mission of the poet is conveyed powerfully in her words.
Retallack opened her presentation with snippets from "Memnoir." She wrote the highly acclaimed book in response to the theme "Memoir/Anti-memoir" presented in one issue of Chain Magazine, according to the poet. She admitted her uneasiness with both ideas of memoir and anti-memoir, and attempted to deal with the two concepts in her writing. The result was "Memnoir," which she called "a negotiation, not a compromise" of those conflicting issues.
The text of "Memnoir" is flooded with questions concerned with how a poet can accurately portray and interpret the world. At one point, Retallack asks whether life can be expressed in a story, and then muses that perhaps a song might be better. She questions whether verbal depiction is even possible, lamenting, "Can a sunrise be described by yards of description?"
Retallack follows these doubts with stunning descriptions that both stun and convince the reader that perhaps the world can be captured in words. The numerous questions in "Memnoir" are interspersed with "e.g." and "i.e.," followed by even more numerous, vivid visual images.
One section of the poem beautifully depicts a playground scene. The most minute details expand into full-color mental portraits within the listener: from a child eating a Mars candy bar to a pants leg caught in the spokes of a bicycle to the child's father who puts too much ham in omelettes.
The next reading came from Retallack's current work in progress, entitled "Reinvention of Truth," a year-long project that will end in early September 2005. Retallack chose powerful sections that forced the reader to ponder profound questions centered on truth and its representation, specifically through writing and words.
Retallack spoke of "acknowledging the gap between realities and representation," and suggested that the solution to coping with these confusing concepts is through poetry.
When introducing her last reading, Retallack dryly said, "This is the closest to improvisation I will ever come," eliciting laughter from audience members.
In this project, Retallack wrote poetry on 26 sheets of paper, each labeled with a letter from the alphabet. She read the first line of every page, creating a chaotic sensory experience. At first the constant stream of words was both confusing to hear and difficult to make sense out of. This was the intended effect. Yet, as Retallack continued reading, the lines from the different pages began to connect with one another.
One line in particular sums up the experience that is Retallack's poetry.
"Sorting through one inclination after another," Retallack read. Those words reflected exactly what she was performing in the piece.
The reading provided those in attendance a chance to listen to Retallack's complex and stunning work as read by its author. The barrage of profound, wide-reaching questions made the poetry overwhelming at times. In the setup of the reading, there was not much time to ponder the meaning of the lines before hearing the next. However, the event was deeply moving and provoked much thought, particularly regarding how poetry can capture life.
Retallack left the audience pondering more than the importance of poetry. She also proposed that poetry can be directly used by all - poets and non-poets alike. As she said in reading from "Reinvention of Truth," "Your mind - you can be the proud owner of this formidable machine."
