January 11th, 2010 / 5:00 pm
Random

Boooring

I’ve been to a lot of readings. Most of them are incredibly boring.

I’ve also been to some shows. Whereas the bands aren’t always good, I’d rarely categorize them as “boring.”

I’ve also been to some art openings. Sure, there are usually obnoxiously pretentious people there, but again, not “boring.”

So what makes going to readings boring? The way I see it, almost anything can make a reading be a complete failure: you could be a bad reader (read too fast, too slow, too soft, too loud, etc.); you could be reading a bad reading piece (because let’s be honest: not everything written sounds good out loud); the room could be unamenable (too loud, too quiet, too bright, etc. etc.); the list could go on.

But what makes a good reading? What makes a reading NOT boring?

I’ve got some readings coming up over the next few months, and I’d prefer not to be a boring reader.

Also, when you go to readings, what is it that you want to hear? Would you rather hear something published, something forthcoming, or something brand spanking new?

73 Comments

  1. Daniel Romo

      I HATE it when poets feel the need to use a different inflection for each syllable read. HATE it!

  2. Daniel Romo

      I HATE it when poets feel the need to use a different inflection for each syllable read. HATE it!

  3. D.W. Lichtenberg

      Dear Lily, for more on what makes a good reading, I suggest you check out some videos from one of my favorite reading series, Literary Death Match. literarydeathmatch.com I read at the November event in SF (they have them all over the country). Here’s the vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSPMd9XqMFM

      Cheers

      Dan

  4. D.W. Lichtenberg

      Dear Lily, for more on what makes a good reading, I suggest you check out some videos from one of my favorite reading series, Literary Death Match. literarydeathmatch.com I read at the November event in SF (they have them all over the country). Here’s the vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSPMd9XqMFM

      Cheers

      Dan

  5. Mike Meginnis

      The only trick I know is to give people permission to laugh. I do this even when I don’t think anything I wrote was funny, in general — it seems like what really kills readings, at least where I live, is the deathly seriousness of it all, as if we’re supposed to worship the author. Nobody claps, nobody shouts, nobody breathes. And so of course, having been forbidden any visible or audible sign of participation, the audience’s mind shuts down as well — and with good reason. If books said “no laughing, no clapping, no crying, no running outside and hollering, etc.” on their covers, I wouldn’t read them.

      Permission to laugh isn’t the perfect solution, and for many writers I doubt it would work. (I’m deadpan enough I think people have an easy time believing it’s all a joke.) But it does, I think, get at something resembling the root at the problem.

  6. Mike Meginnis

      The only trick I know is to give people permission to laugh. I do this even when I don’t think anything I wrote was funny, in general — it seems like what really kills readings, at least where I live, is the deathly seriousness of it all, as if we’re supposed to worship the author. Nobody claps, nobody shouts, nobody breathes. And so of course, having been forbidden any visible or audible sign of participation, the audience’s mind shuts down as well — and with good reason. If books said “no laughing, no clapping, no crying, no running outside and hollering, etc.” on their covers, I wouldn’t read them.

      Permission to laugh isn’t the perfect solution, and for many writers I doubt it would work. (I’m deadpan enough I think people have an easy time believing it’s all a joke.) But it does, I think, get at something resembling the root at the problem.

  7. Matt Cozart

      Yeah, if you have a friendly, casual, congenial atmosphere, that helps. It helps to have a good host to set the tone. Someone who’s loose and comfortable and doesn’t worry too much about stuff and things.

  8. Matt Cozart

      Yeah, if you have a friendly, casual, congenial atmosphere, that helps. It helps to have a good host to set the tone. Someone who’s loose and comfortable and doesn’t worry too much about stuff and things.

  9. Lily

      ha! yes!

  10. Lily

      ha! yes!

  11. elizabeth ellen

      most readings are boring because, let’s face it, most writers are not entertainers. the readings i have been to that i most enjoyed were almost always ones in which i laughed. a lot. davy rothbart, sam pink, joe meno, tao lin, dave eggers, aaron burch and michelle tea (and the group of women she traveled with a couple years back) come most readily to mind. also, as i’ve said many times, kate braverman, though her reading was more theatrical than outright funny. still, this question makes me wish i wrote funnier shit. i have a reading tomorrow night and i’m scrambling to find something funny to read. i might have to break down and write something real quick. and what is the likelihood that’s going to be a good idea?

  12. elizabeth ellen

      most readings are boring because, let’s face it, most writers are not entertainers. the readings i have been to that i most enjoyed were almost always ones in which i laughed. a lot. davy rothbart, sam pink, joe meno, tao lin, dave eggers, aaron burch and michelle tea (and the group of women she traveled with a couple years back) come most readily to mind. also, as i’ve said many times, kate braverman, though her reading was more theatrical than outright funny. still, this question makes me wish i wrote funnier shit. i have a reading tomorrow night and i’m scrambling to find something funny to read. i might have to break down and write something real quick. and what is the likelihood that’s going to be a good idea?

  13. Roxane Gay

      Readings are difficult because, as I love to tell my students, most people neither like nor want to hear other people talk.

  14. Roxane Gay

      Readings are difficult because, as I love to tell my students, most people neither like nor want to hear other people talk.

  15. howie good

      i have a series of three readings coming up. i try to vary the stuff i read — free verse, prose poems, love poems, political poems. i also almost always tell a little story about what i’m about to read. if people can’t relate to the poetry, they can at least usually relate to the story.

      on the other hand, i haven’t done so many readings that i’m any kind of expert. my “insights” may just be crap.

  16. howie good

      i have a series of three readings coming up. i try to vary the stuff i read — free verse, prose poems, love poems, political poems. i also almost always tell a little story about what i’m about to read. if people can’t relate to the poetry, they can at least usually relate to the story.

      on the other hand, i haven’t done so many readings that i’m any kind of expert. my “insights” may just be crap.

  17. Henry Ronan-Daniell

      I think an hour or two of instruction at the MFA level (or wherever else) might help the boringness, though I don’t really know who’d do it. Just someone to say, “Don’t start using a bunch of weird pausing and inflections that are completely removed from how humans actually communicate with one another. Also, don’t think about each individual letter in each word.” One man’s opinion…

  18. Henry Ronan-Daniell

      I think an hour or two of instruction at the MFA level (or wherever else) might help the boringness, though I don’t really know who’d do it. Just someone to say, “Don’t start using a bunch of weird pausing and inflections that are completely removed from how humans actually communicate with one another. Also, don’t think about each individual letter in each word.” One man’s opinion…

  19. Chris Taylor

      I’m tempted also to say ‘humor,’ though I don’t think this should be a law of nature given that some writing is so unquestionably serious that it seems impossible to intersperse it with laughter. But definitely engaging with the audience – even if it’s about small things just acknowledging that there IS an audience, like, “I don’t know how many of you have read this thing I’m referring to here, but…” Being human but not excessively self-conscious about it. No one wants to hear (too much) about how nervous you are, for example, but if you say one clever thing about your nervousness and then read with good inflection and pacing that does not actually belie nervousness, I might buy into it and be more interested in what you are saying.

      Meta is nice, too. I like to hear a story behind a work, if there is one. I want to feel like I’m getting something out of this reading that I couldn’t by just checking the book out from the library. Juicy details. Insightful anecdotes. A sense of where the writer – and the writing – are coming from.

      I don’t want to hear a lot about the writing process, however, and I think that’s where sometimes a reading gets inexcusably dull for me. Even though I like writing and thinking about the writing process, I go to readings more to take in a set of experiences outside those I’ve already had.

      Disorganized, but there you go.

  20. Sabra

      Get drunk. Wear sexy underwear. Bring puppies.

  21. Sabra

      Get drunk. Wear sexy underwear. Bring puppies.

  22. alec niedenthal

      Abraham Smith’s reading at the August LDM was the best reading I’ve ever seen.

  23. alec niedenthal

      Abraham Smith’s reading at the August LDM was the best reading I’ve ever seen.

  24. james yeh

      yeah he was pretty damn good, although i kind of could only understand ever other word or so, although that might have been what made it so damn good.

  25. james yeh

      yeah he was pretty damn good, although i kind of could only understand ever other word or so, although that might have been what made it so damn good.

  26. Cheryl

      Oh yes, just what I was going to say. The dreaded poetry voice. Made me hate poetry altogether for a while.

  27. Cheryl

      Oh yes, just what I was going to say. The dreaded poetry voice. Made me hate poetry altogether for a while.

  28. Cheryl

      A combination of good selection, avoidance of precious diction, and judicious use of anecdote.

  29. Cheryl

      A combination of good selection, avoidance of precious diction, and judicious use of anecdote.

  30. Stu

      Don’t overstay your welcome. People don’t care if you suck as long as you don’t linger. Even if you’re good, which is not objectively quantifiable, sticking around too long to read one more poem or story is the literary equivalent of showboating. People just don’t like it. I don’t like it. Also, if you fancy yourself an actor, believe me, you’re not; your main influence being Tao Lin and other mumbling, monotone readers makes you the Benicio Del Toro of reading. No one past the front row can hear you, and moreover, they don’t care. Stop being a wussy, tell stories about hookers and smoking crack (if you’re a real badass, about smoking crack with hookers), don’t tell me how “bored” you are, YOU’RE BORING, because you’re boring me talking about being bored. It doesn’t make you “existential” and “cool,” it makes you mind-numbingly mediocre, in fact: it’s just not a good subject.

      I think if you feel you MUST throw anecdotes around before stories/poems, make it brief. You’re not funny. No one cares THAT much about you, they are probably there for the free booze, or lacking that, refreshments. In fact, don’t even read if booze isn’t involved.

  31. Stu

      Don’t overstay your welcome. People don’t care if you suck as long as you don’t linger. Even if you’re good, which is not objectively quantifiable, sticking around too long to read one more poem or story is the literary equivalent of showboating. People just don’t like it. I don’t like it. Also, if you fancy yourself an actor, believe me, you’re not; your main influence being Tao Lin and other mumbling, monotone readers makes you the Benicio Del Toro of reading. No one past the front row can hear you, and moreover, they don’t care. Stop being a wussy, tell stories about hookers and smoking crack (if you’re a real badass, about smoking crack with hookers), don’t tell me how “bored” you are, YOU’RE BORING, because you’re boring me talking about being bored. It doesn’t make you “existential” and “cool,” it makes you mind-numbingly mediocre, in fact: it’s just not a good subject.

      I think if you feel you MUST throw anecdotes around before stories/poems, make it brief. You’re not funny. No one cares THAT much about you, they are probably there for the free booze, or lacking that, refreshments. In fact, don’t even read if booze isn’t involved.

  32. natty bo

      steal from Latka – come out and pretend you speak in a really scared/nasally/foreign/whatever accent and do that for a minute or two…then at a key point start speaking normally.

      pull a dale carnegie and pretend the crowd owes you money. own that fucking crowd. look at them like you could have any one… okay, sorry. that’s a bit far. bottom line is act like you own the place and your nervousness will pull that down enough so that you just look confident, not psychotic. your voice will be strong and the crowd will be into it. and, yeah, make ’em laugh.

  33. natty bo

      steal from Latka – come out and pretend you speak in a really scared/nasally/foreign/whatever accent and do that for a minute or two…then at a key point start speaking normally.

      pull a dale carnegie and pretend the crowd owes you money. own that fucking crowd. look at them like you could have any one… okay, sorry. that’s a bit far. bottom line is act like you own the place and your nervousness will pull that down enough so that you just look confident, not psychotic. your voice will be strong and the crowd will be into it. and, yeah, make ’em laugh.

  34. Sean

      Alcohol # 1.

      People disagree with me, but I have said again and again that readers should read not necessarily their best work, but maybe something with humor or titillation, however you define those words. Some hate this idea, but I just think some things work in that setting, our loud, and some work better on the page.

      Keep it short, and have a varied lineup. The Quickies idea, though maybe that’s a bit too short.

      Wear hot pink shoes like TC Boyle?

      If enough readings are boring, don’t got to readings?

      If your own reading is boring, switch it up until something clicks. Also alcohol helps, reader and audience.

  35. Sean

      Alcohol # 1.

      People disagree with me, but I have said again and again that readers should read not necessarily their best work, but maybe something with humor or titillation, however you define those words. Some hate this idea, but I just think some things work in that setting, our loud, and some work better on the page.

      Keep it short, and have a varied lineup. The Quickies idea, though maybe that’s a bit too short.

      Wear hot pink shoes like TC Boyle?

      If enough readings are boring, don’t got to readings?

      If your own reading is boring, switch it up until something clicks. Also alcohol helps, reader and audience.

  36. Sean

      Are you really saying “only bastard in town who prefers brunettes” doesn’t have a lot of humor?

      Read that.

  37. Sean

      Are you really saying “only bastard in town who prefers brunettes” doesn’t have a lot of humor?

      Read that.

  38. Lily Hoang

      it seems like most commenters here inferred that i’m a bad reader & need advice. the purpose of this post was to ask why the fuck most readings are boring. (quickies & LDM are exceptions, among many other exceptions. yes, abe smith is a great reader/performer. there are others: joyelle m., kate greenstreet, etc.)

      furthermore, if you go to a reading, do you want to hear new stuff or old stuff?

      also, i went to a reading once where the reader fell asleep during his own reading. he was old and drunk. i think.

  39. Lily Hoang

      it seems like most commenters here inferred that i’m a bad reader & need advice. the purpose of this post was to ask why the fuck most readings are boring. (quickies & LDM are exceptions, among many other exceptions. yes, abe smith is a great reader/performer. there are others: joyelle m., kate greenstreet, etc.)

      furthermore, if you go to a reading, do you want to hear new stuff or old stuff?

      also, i went to a reading once where the reader fell asleep during his own reading. he was old and drunk. i think.

  40. Chris Toll

      things that make readings bad:

      being disorganized – having a thick stack of poems and shuffling through it and going, “aw shucks, what should i read next…”

      definitely the Poetry Voice – some people have this child’s voice where they go up at the end of each line – please stop.

      thinking you’re a genius.

      thinking you’re a slob with no right to read.

      going on and on.

      things that make a good reading:

      the opposite of the above.

      i go for a mix of old and new. every set is a different one. i tend to read fast (that can be a flaw). i usually don’t explain much. i try to read as if the poems are carrying me (if that makes sense). i never read more than 20 minutes.

  41. Chris Toll

      things that make readings bad:

      being disorganized – having a thick stack of poems and shuffling through it and going, “aw shucks, what should i read next…”

      definitely the Poetry Voice – some people have this child’s voice where they go up at the end of each line – please stop.

      thinking you’re a genius.

      thinking you’re a slob with no right to read.

      going on and on.

      things that make a good reading:

      the opposite of the above.

      i go for a mix of old and new. every set is a different one. i tend to read fast (that can be a flaw). i usually don’t explain much. i try to read as if the poems are carrying me (if that makes sense). i never read more than 20 minutes.

  42. elizabeth ellen

      haha. damn it! why didn’t you tell me this last night?

  43. elizabeth ellen

      haha. damn it! why didn’t you tell me this last night?

  44. Lily Hoang

      puppies are key.

  45. Lily Hoang

      puppies are key.

  46. John Jodzio

      My favorite readings that I’ve been to/participated in are usually short and themed. No one reads for longer than ten minutes. Obviously there’s a bigger audience the more readers there are.

      I usually try to read new work each time on the off-chance that someone has been to a reading that I’ve done before. While I can probably think of quite a few stories that I would like to hear a writer read a couple times or more, not sure that anyone else is like that.

      I was doing a reading a while back with a poet who after reading a lengthy poem about the Mississippi (in his poet’s voice) informed the crowd that “a good poem should always be read twice” and then proceeded to read the fucking thing again.

  47. John Jodzio

      My favorite readings that I’ve been to/participated in are usually short and themed. No one reads for longer than ten minutes. Obviously there’s a bigger audience the more readers there are.

      I usually try to read new work each time on the off-chance that someone has been to a reading that I’ve done before. While I can probably think of quite a few stories that I would like to hear a writer read a couple times or more, not sure that anyone else is like that.

      I was doing a reading a while back with a poet who after reading a lengthy poem about the Mississippi (in his poet’s voice) informed the crowd that “a good poem should always be read twice” and then proceeded to read the fucking thing again.

  48. shaun

      You can have people smash things in the background while reading a really loud poem. That’s never boring.

  49. shaun

      You can have people smash things in the background while reading a really loud poem. That’s never boring.

  50. Rebecca Loudon

      Take off a shoe or both shoes. Move your body but don’t wave your hands around like birds particularly if you are reading a poem that contains birds. Drop things. Laugh at yourself. Alert your audience that you might have a seizure on stage. Don’t explain. Don’t read everything you’ve ever written. Practice. Cut your allotted reading time in half. Write brilliant poems.

  51. Rebecca Loudon

      Take off a shoe or both shoes. Move your body but don’t wave your hands around like birds particularly if you are reading a poem that contains birds. Drop things. Laugh at yourself. Alert your audience that you might have a seizure on stage. Don’t explain. Don’t read everything you’ve ever written. Practice. Cut your allotted reading time in half. Write brilliant poems.

  52. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      …In addition to humor, I think form matters when choosing a piece. My attention often accidentally wanders when I listen, but if a piece is structured in such a way I can jump back in (I find most so-called realist short stories are not) and still follow if I miss part, then I am never truly lost.

      I think this is why list stories and other formal conceits, things with built-in anchors, little reentry points, play well live, especially if you are reading long, like up into the 15 minute or longer bracket.

  53. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      …In addition to humor, I think form matters when choosing a piece. My attention often accidentally wanders when I listen, but if a piece is structured in such a way I can jump back in (I find most so-called realist short stories are not) and still follow if I miss part, then I am never truly lost.

      I think this is why list stories and other formal conceits, things with built-in anchors, little reentry points, play well live, especially if you are reading long, like up into the 15 minute or longer bracket.

  54. Lily Hoang

      and make up!!

  55. Lily Hoang

      and make up!!

  56. Blake Butler

      reading humor pieces is for the weak

  57. Blake Butler

      reading humor pieces is for the weak

  58. Amelia

      l.o.l.

  59. Amelia

      l.o.l.

  60. Lily Hoang

      and the sickly.

  61. Lily Hoang

      and the sickly.

  62. mts

      And the funny.

  63. mts

      And the funny.

  64. Sean

      what if you read something serious in a funny way.

      (poetic technique–asked question but ended in period)

  65. Sean

      what if you read something serious in a funny way.

      (poetic technique–asked question but ended in period)

  66. Blake Butler

      that can be good. amelia is good at that.

  67. Blake Butler

      that can be good. amelia is good at that.

  68. Noah

      Somewhere in there mention dinosaurs. People love dinosaurs.

  69. Noah

      Somewhere in there mention dinosaurs. People love dinosaurs.

  70. Adam

      Honestly, in regard to “published, current, or brand spanking new” I’d say just go with some of each. Or even just flat out ask your audience, ya know? “What do you guys wanna hear tonight?” If they sort of sit in silence for a moment, make fun of them for doing so and insist. You’ll get some voices.

  71. Adam

      Honestly, in regard to “published, current, or brand spanking new” I’d say just go with some of each. Or even just flat out ask your audience, ya know? “What do you guys wanna hear tonight?” If they sort of sit in silence for a moment, make fun of them for doing so and insist. You’ll get some voices.

  72. elizabeth ellen

      ditto: reading while trashed

  73. elizabeth ellen

      ditto: reading while trashed