Last night I was trying to fall asleep and I was thinking of Lee’s poem “Persimmons” and I was thinking about how disappointed I was with how he read poetry.
So I deceided to rant about it.
I hated that he sounded like Ben Stein, if Ben Stein was dying of boredom. Do you understand how bored sounding that would be??? It was nothing how I imagined he would read, and I understand he didnt read “Persimmons,” but if what Glenn said was true and if he really reads like that, agh, that would stink. I sincerely tried reading this poem like it was slam poetry. It sort of reminded me of something Marc Smith would write, for some reason, and I was like, yes, go slam poetry, I’m so excited that this anthology has some slam in it. Then, during class, I got really disappointed.
Did anyone feel like this? I know that my opinion of how Lee reads doesnt really matter, but was anyone else disappointed?
American Literature 
If it makes you happy just allow yourself to think that it was slam poetry…reality is what you make it.
It would have been nice however to have a reading of Sherman Alexie to compare with Lee and Collins. I find it fascinating how the auditory process recreates the work and in some ways makes it more meaningful.
I wasn’t disappointed so much as it wasn’t what I had expected. I really liked that poem, Persimmons, and I enjoyed reading it twice, the first time having not really understood it. I read it in class after the professor had us listen to that tape of the reading. Was that Li-Young Lee reading, I wonder? I personally enjoyed reading it at a faster pace with more feeling to it, it enhanced the poem for me. I dont think it should matter how the poem is read by others if you have a way that makes you enjoy the poem the most. Like what the teacher said about Billy Collins and how he was an ass hole in real life but on paper he seemed like a stand-up kind of guy. Who cares what the poet is like if the poems are good?