Natasha Tretheway
I was in attendance during the Natasha Tretheway Poetry reading. It was not what I expected but, none the less, it was a unique opportunity to see a Pulitzer Prize winning poet in action. This was especially true because Miami has never had one at the University before. My vision going into the auditorium was that she would use her voice to tell the story, allowing her pitch in voice and speed of reading to give sensation and meaning to her words. I though she would emphasize significant passages and embody the voice in order to give the poem life. But she did none of this. Instead, she used a very monotone voice with an unchanging pace. Why did she do this?; I thought as I sat there listening passage after passage. But then it hit me, Natasha didn’t want her reading to tell the stories within the poems, she wanted the words within the text to do it for her. The meaning behind her message didn’t need to be glamored in order to get the point across. The comprehension of the poems were not challenging at all, they didn’t make you sit and think for hours the way Williams Shakespeare does. But her message was loud and clear. Her poem each told part of the overall story behind the hardships and oppression that African Americans have faced over the years. Many of her poems were actually personal experiences associated with her life. This is why she read the poems like she did. Even so, at times I found it hard to follow, dozing off for a moment or two. My attention was always rejuvenated by her elegant diction and clever metaphors though. Maybe is some of the reason why I found myself dozing, in a way her poems were soothing. Another unique aspect that Natasha brought was her connection to Ohio. Many times she mention that coming here was like coming home. If I remember it correctly, her parents legally married here in Ohio because it was illegal for African Americans to get married in Mississippi. This is yet another hardship that her family has faced and many other families still face today. Several of her poems reflect this. I guess most importantly Natasha’s poems were very informative and enlightening. I found out many tings that I didn’t before. I had no idea that African Americans can’t get married in Mississippi, and I am curious if it still is in effect today. Still, I think this is what Natasha wanted to do, invoke the listeners to think, and overall she did a good job of it. I defiantly thought this was a cool experience and I defiantly won’t forget it.
