To the 5-minute Medievalist Danièle Cybulskie, don’t slaughter the text

I loved hearing the backstory of Orpheus and the comparison to Sir Orfeo. And it was interesting to hear how Eurydice’s name was phonetically preserved in the Medieval manuscript, especially the preserving the hard K (evreyZeeke), along with the word lethe, but that is another story. I also discovered that I’ve been saying her name wrong all these years, with an Italian inflection. I blame the movie, Black Orpheus. Apparently the correct pronunciation of Eurydice in English is Yuh-rid-ih-see, itself a fair distance from Heurodis.

I was fascinated to hear of Orpheus’ Thracian connection, a orphan king, no less. His Orphic name loaning us the cognate word orphan. I missed that Thracian connection somehow along the way, and the whole thing about going back to Thrace to hang out with the bhoys was well worth the price of admission. Thank you for a glimpse into the Classical world through the Medievalist lens. I would love to have heard a snippet of the original Medieval translation of the Breton lay of Sir Orfeo for contextual reference.

But I quibble with your reading of the actual translation. For 2000 plus years, reading was a social activity, until the 17th c. everyone in the western world read texts aloud, if even to themselves, except, maybe St. Ambrose. When you read aloud, please do the text justice, don’t slaughter it.

I get that your 19th c. translation of Sir Orfeo by Jessie L. Weston, (a translation of a translation of a translation….) was written in iambic pentameter, but when it is read aloud, it needs to be read with feeling behind the words. Imagine Anthony Hopkins reading it. It would be better to read it in a normal voice rather than to slip into the iambic sing-song that voice that obfuscates the actual meaning behind the words.

When I work with students for Poetry Out Loud, I have them circle the important verbs and place the emphasis there. Punch up the verbs! Just because a line ends, doesn’t mean you take a breath and stop there to acknowledge that line break. The verbs carry the meaning.

I have heard you read before, and every time you read, my attention wanders, and I do not take in what you are saying. And I think that that experience is ultimately true for most people and this is why they came to dislike poetry. Wordsworth said that poetry should be “near to the language of men.” Or poetry should be as natural as speech. Consider upping your oratory game and really bring those poems to life. Breathe life back into those words.

Poetry Out Loud, Brentwood News

January 19 x 21, 2011 | Brentwood News, Contra Costs Times, San Jose Mercury News (CA)

Author: Trine Gallegos | Page: 3A | Section: News

A RHYME IN TIME: Pandora Bethea is happy about the success of the fourth annual Poetry Out Loud contest. The Deer Valley High event was held earlier this month, and now the Antioch teacher and event coordinator is looking forward to the next level.
From the Poetry Out Loud database, students choose two poems each by masters of poetry and memorized them for the event. Maureen Hurley from California Poets in the Schools and DV's Bethea coached the students in memorization and recitation skills.

The winners were: Taylor Green, first place; Kayla Alexander, second place, and Brandon Harris, third place.

The judging panel featured poets Maria Rosales and Bruce Moody, county Arts and Culture commissioners P.J. Shelton and Darija Walker (and DVHS grad), school board member Walter Ruehlig, and DVco-principals Scott Bergerhouse and Clarence Isadore.

The fourth annual POL contest was dedicated to Ruehlig, a former English teacher, who has served on the panel of judges at DV for two years. "It was in appreciation of his active presence in supporting literary arts for our Antioch youth, and thus promoting the love and beauty of language," Bethea wrote in an e-mail.

The next level is the county contest, which includes all finalists. They'll compete for a chance to represent Contra Costa in the state championship. For the first time, Deer Valley will host the big event, slated for 1 p.m. Feb. 13. CCTV will be on hand to film it the free event.

For more info, e-mail Bethea pandorabethea@antioch.k12.ca.us

Making a Card for Susan Sibbet

FINISHED CARD

DRAFT

I made a huge group card today for a poet friend undergoing radiation treatments. It began as a card and morphed into a piece of art. Something I have no control over. It's quite big: 12x18", drawn in stabillo (water soluable wax pencil) and colored pencil. The CPITS poets will all sign it this weekend in Santa Barbara. I think I will make an insert and have them sign it, and not the drawing. It's too good to be defaced with writing. Then I can stitch it inside. Still to do: make a really big envelope.

I had very little time or warning to make the card. A phone call on the afternoon of my departure for the conference. So I drew and drew until the light faded, not stopping once. (about 2 and a half hours). I didn't dare think, or interrupt myself because that unbidden self that draws like this is not me, the control freak. I have to step aside in order for my other self to draw. It's a place of no words. In that place I'm a near illiterate.

And there's a near synaesthesic quality to that zone. It's almost as if I feel the shape come alive and off the page as I draw. I can't quite describe the sensation—but it's pleasurable in a tactile foodish sort of way. I'm hearing the sound take shape. Something between music and dance. But not melody. There's something else shamanistic in it too—as if the physical act of drawing could somehow heal her, and my aunts too.

It's all about that transformation of a flat line into something sculptural—nearly 3-D. I've never drawn a star lily that big before. Certainly not under time pressure like that. I was afraid it would look anemic on the page, but it holds. It holds. It's also the first time I've drawn one without a live model. OK, I did look at some old drawings. But I prefer to draw fresh each time from real life.

I will set up the image on silk and have poets paint a matching scarf for her as well. As I drew the card, it occurred to me that my aunts, both in the throes of chemo, are going bald as well. I should make them some scarves too.

Susan Sibbet has been a pillar of strength for CPITS, serving as a poet, mentor, director, and board member. She has also played a crucial role in Poetry Out Loud. An amazing arts leader and organizer, she always brings to the table, no matter how barren, or overloaded, a "can-do" attitude. A true leader.





(My aunt Canice died 5/12/12—3 years with Stage 4 cancer. It was mercifully quick. Susan is still fighting it but cancer is a formidable opponent. )

UPDATE: 7/9/2013 Susan is losing her battle with cancer and is in hospice but she looks forward to phone calls and cards. Please contact her ASAP.