The intimate voice

I will always -- always! -- prefer the voice over the written word when it comes to experiencing poetry. I hope to start posting audio, like the clips below, of gay poets reading their work and/or talking about their work or poetry from poets (of any ilk) about identity issues.

I've specifically chosen not to post the text of the poems. This is about the poet's voice, intimate, over a phone line (literally, for what it's worth) and whispered into one listener's patient ear.

A word about the recordings. They start out with an annoying British woman screaming "Blog Talk Radio!" (ah, branding!). After that you might want to turn up your iTunes/computer volume so you can hear things better.

A word about my introductions. They are my own personal opinions and in NO WAY reflect the poet's intents and/or opinions. They are somewhat off the cuff and not to be taken as serious scholarship. In essence, I tried to gauge my own initial reactions, much as a listener might. They are short introductory remarks, meant to prepare the listener for the poem and to get them excited to hear it. That being said, that all still takes times and I don't know if I'll always be able to provide such remarks.

Click here to hear remarks about James Hall's poem. [for those who are at work, contains the word 'penis']
Listen to him read Portrait of My Lover as Man in a Polyester Suit, 1980." [for those who are at work, contains the word 'cock']

Click here to hear remarks about Jericho Brown's poem.
Jericho reads "Track 1: Lush Life."
The poem is in the current issue of Post Road.

Click here to hear remarks* about two of RJ Gibson's poems.
He reads "In Transit" and "Aubade"

*Please forgive my mispronunciation of "Aubade" in my remarks. It was late and I was on automatic. Or would that be aubade-omatic?

James Hall is the author of the recently published first book Now You're the Enemy (Univ. of Arkansas Press).

Jericho Brown's poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Iowa Review, jubilat, New England Review, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere. The recipient of a Cave Canem Fellowship, and other fellowships, Brown serves as an assistant editor at Callaloo and teaches creative writing as an assistant professor of English at the University of San Diego. His first book, Please (New Issues) in the fall.

RJ Gibson calls himself "a landscaper and artistic gad-about." He has poems forthcoming in the spring issues of BLOOM and Knockout. His work has been featured online at Six Sentences and in an installment of PRI's "Soundprint."