Commentary On Ross White's Flyleaf Books Poetry Reading

Flyleaf Books Poetry Reading
The reading was held at Flyleaf Books. The room used for the reading was the used books room. Chairs had been placed out in two-thirds of the room, and they faced a wooden podium with a microphone. The reader’s backdrop was a bookcase holding children’s books, which was oddly fitting considering the subject matter of most of the poems read. Most of the audience was middle aged and, honestly, predominantly white. The few younger attendants looked to be graduate students. The host for the evening was kind and gave lengthy yet dazzling introductions for the poets. Ross white was the first poet to read. He opened by simply talking to the audience. He was joking and relaxed. His opening dialogue set the audience up for the poems he was going to read. He did this with most of not all of his poems. His reading voice was rather like his speaking voice except slightly more theatrical, only to the point that it sounded like he was reciting lines.
He would set the scene or give specific background information especially to the younger crowed who may not have remembered or

He was dressed in a blazer, Nike sneakers, and a baseball cap. When he went up to the podium he also engaged the audience. He used less jokes than White but he definitely gave context to his poems. Most of his commentary was reminiscing about the time period of the poem. He set one poem up by teasing the audience saying there was one question he asked his parents that he wished he hadn’t, and he would talk about his family. More specifically, he spoke about his father and how he was never home for church unless he went on strike. After this introduction, which was more of an explanation, he read, “High Mass”. On a more light-hearted note, he read “Betsy Wetsy” and said that his sister had this doll which he hated, most likely due to the lazy eye it had that he thought watched