I came to poetry through the back door, rediscovering it during my years of studying Tamil and living in south India. It was my Tamil teacher, Dr. K. V. Ramkoti, who insisted I begin memorizing poems, which forever changed my experience of language and life. Reciting poems aloud, feeling them in my mouth and in my ears and in my body, I found a delight in words I had almost lost reawakening.
So when I am asked to read, speak, or perform, I draw on all my experience to share that delight in a way that can reawaken it in others. For the past decade, this has included what I’d come to call The Poet’s Magic, my own way of combining poetry and magic to illuminate each other, even for those who don’t think they like either! (You can read more about this story in my essay, “First Loves.”)
More recently, I have been drawing on my experience in theater and music as well to create more theatrical pieces.
photo by Michelle Bates
But perhaps the best way to explain what I do is not to explain at all, but instead to share a few glimpses. So here are a few samples: