Art Event #1: Mary E. Rolling Reading Series

I never considered poetry to be one of my interests. I always viewed it as boring and, for lack of a better word... "girly." These opinions were developed through common stereotypes about poetry, which were communicated to me through friends, and also portrayed through some television shows. I guess you could say that I never really gave it a chance. I just believed everything I heard. When I learned about poetry in school, I just went through the motions and did what I had to do. I didn't look for a deeper meaning in the poems, and I never really learned what it was all about. Whenever I thought of poetry, I thought of a few lines, each ending with rhyming words. 

This poetry reading opened my eyes to the truth about poetry. I didn't really know what to expect as Nicole Cooley and Julia Spicher Kasdorf were introduced and approached the podium. All it took was one poem in order for me to realize that I couldn't have been any more wrong. These poems didn't contain rhyming words, but they told stories. They told stories that were described vividly enough to make me feel as if I was there when it was happening. Some poems contained humor, stating "your milkshakes bring all the boys," talking about a diner. Some poems used dialogue along with imagery to help the listener picture what is happening. All of these aspects were present in each poem, but the topics varied. They varied from stories about childhood, stories about a particular place, or even stories about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

This event helped me understand the truth about poetry. It allowed me to see the meaning behind it, the reasons that it is written, and helped me understand that pretty much all of the stereotypes about it are false. I was very pleased with this experience, and I would definitely be interested in attending another one of these events, along with other art events that I usually tend to avoid.