How to Read a Poem

at an open mic or online...

My favorite way to learn is by watching and emulating. In a welcoming, winsome, non-threatening approach, Tania Runyan allows me to do this.”

—Monica Silva, poet

Have you ever considered reading a poem at an open mic—or perhaps online at a place like Soundcloud?

If you’ve already tried this, maybe you’d enjoy the chance to improve your reading? After all, your poems have heart, mind, and soul—and how you read can either bring that forth or obscure your work.

Whatever the case, we’ve got great tips for you from our book How to Write a Poem: Based on the Billy Collins Poem “Introduction to Poetry.”
 

Tips Include

• how long you should plan to read (you might be surprised!)

• how to avoid the “poem line” mistake everyone else makes

• how to avoid the dreaded “Poet Voice”
   

Plus

• Using the unexpected “nerve center” technique

• Whether or not you should pay fees

• How to make your poems go straight to their hearts

If you try out our tips, we’d love to know. Just link to your Soundcloud or other audio media so we can give a listen!

Get the Tips

You can download the tips, below.

We’ve also included some very special audio from the beautiful Laurie Klein! This audio is otherwise an exclusive for Tweetspeak patrons.