Something New
Last week I did something I have never done before, attended a poetry festival. It wasn't what I expected at all. My concept of a poetry recital was of men with long hair, beards and hand-knitted woolly jumpers, or ladies with chiffon scarves and diaphanous skirts, reciting verses in the same monotone voice, whilst making enormous gestures with their arms.
Did this happen? No it did not. There were some terrific deliveries and some under-stated, some over-performances and some just right.
The mood of each performance changed by using musical accompaniment, flute, guitar, saxophone, ektara (yes I had to look up that one too), to name a few.
A rooftop venue, overlooking the restaurant district of Manama, Bahrain, lent a sense of drama to the event, and was only slightly marred by the horns of impatient car drivers below.
Writing poetry is not something I see myself doing, except perhaps the odd humorous ditty, but I have a better understand of what it is about.
If you get the chance to attend a recital, go along. You don't have to like poetry to feel the performers' passion, not only for poetry, but also for life itself. Give it a go, you may be pleasantly surprised.
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