Poetry For Peace Poetry Reading Review

In the poetry for peace poetry reading today (December 8, 2009), the subject was ‘home” or returning home. The poet read some of his poems, one about children taking the bus home. In that poem, the narrator discusses how they didn’t want to go on the bus with the picture of the “deer” on it, choosing to go instead on the bus with the clown on it. The narrator ends up getting on the wrong bus because of their preference for the “clown” bus over the “deer” bus. I really liked how the author wrote his poems. He wrote in a very casual style that really made it easy to listen to. The way in which the author read his poem furthered the casual and relaxed diction of the poem. It was a very small poetry reading, with only about seven people. I had expected the reading to be in the large auditorium for some reason, and expected there to be a full line up of poets ready to read their pieces. If I had known it was going to be so small, I would brought one of my poems to read. I really like the “going home” subject as it really strikes a cord with many people. Its an interesting concept to think about because the subject of home is often dominated by images of places and scenery, but in reality it seems to me that “home” is not necessarily the physical environment but the people and memories that one associates with home. Questions about “home” and belonging are more complex than many people might imagine. If I had brought a poem with me to read, it would have been my villanelle titled I Know I’m Home When…, which discusses my perceptions of home. In my poem, I also focused on returning home, but not in a physical way. Coming home is returning to those whom you love and care about, and not necessarily the physical surroundings. One can be at “home” without actually literally being at one’s home. As long as one is near those whom they associate with home then one may even be “home” while in a new place.