Dear Poet X: Thanks for clarifying the pronunciation of your name for the recording of your piece. I will be posting your piece tomorrow, I’ll let you know when it’s up. I usually tag Whale Sound poets on Facebook as soon as their piece is posted, but you’re not on Facebook! How can you not be on Facebook! All poets are on Facebook!
Dear Poet X: You ask how I found your poem. I found it by browsing online journals and assiduously following links on blogs I read. One of the things I love about this project is that it sends me out to actively trawl for poems. I’m reading much, much more poetry online than I ever was before, and with a careful and focused attention. If I find something I like, I Google the author for other samples of their work and follow those links on, and on. It’s a terrific adventure!
Dear Poet X – Once again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to interpret your work. I was happy with the effort and attention I put into my reading of your work, but acknowledge that Whale Sound is still feeling its way with recording technology, and that the sound quality of that particular recording could have been better. I hope you have noted an improvement in sound on the site since then – it seems that every day I learn some new sound-quality-boosting trick, and I hope it is showing in the postings.
Dear Poet X: Would you mind terribly awfully much if I switched your poem? I’m learning new things through this project every day, and one is how very far from the written page the “right” (according to me!) vocalization lies. So, now I know to sit with, read aloud and practice-record any poem *before* I ask to use it. I still love your Poem X, but honestly hadn’t worked it enough with my voice before asking you if I could use it, and in the end, just couldn’t make it “right” as a Whale Sound recording.
I really appreciate the attention and care you’ve given through this project, Nic. Well done!
Well, only because it’s fun and fascinating and because it entails interacting with terrific poets like you!
Hi Nic, I’m going to get to your blog more often. You’re always in the middle of something exciting.
Whoops, forgot to hit the notify button.
In regards to the second note, that’s kind of why I keep a links sideblog, Smorgasblog, too: there’s nothing like an active search for focusing the attention.
(Which might go part-way toward explaining the popularity of Tumblr, I think.)
Good point — I need to find a systematic way to keep up with all the different resources — right now it’s a bit haphazard.
Ever try Delicious? It does bookmarking really well.
No – but I will!