beyond the normal parameters of the poetry reading. To hear sophisti-
cated manipulation of the voice, listen to Trevor Wishart (2001) or
Christian Bok (republished) on The Writing Experiment website.- Enunciate words rhythmically. This has been popular from avant-garde
poetries to rap: it is likely, however, to require musical expertise to be
maximally effective. Make sure that you pursue syncopated and irregu-
lar rhythms as well as regular ones: move against the beat as well as
with it. Again see the work of Charles Amirkhanian on The Writing
Experiment website. But also see the work of Caribbean poets Linton
Kwesi Johnson and Benjamin Zephaniah (Tuma 2001)—the rhythmic
content is noticeable even on the page. See also my own work which is
rhythmically notated on the page (Smith 1991) and realised on CD
(Smith 1994); and my collaboration with Roger Dean, Poet Without
Language , represented in an extract on The Writing Experiment website
(Smith & Dean republished). - Speak with a musical accompaniment. This could be a rhythmic
backing, a musical composition, or a soundscape consisting of environ-
mental noises. Music and words may be closely related to each other, or
run in parallel with each other, with relatively little interaction. - Explore the interface between singing and speaking. The poet Amanda
Stewart has created poems which move dexterously between popular
songs, anthems and lines of poetry (sometimes speaking, sometimes
singing) to create this kind of oral mix. For example, her delivery of the
poem. romance (1981) —the written text of which is included in Chapter
4—involves abrupt shifts in tone, dynamic and speed. Listen to her per-
formance of this on The Writing Experiment website (Stewart republished).
Other poets, like the Canadian, bp Nichol, have explored a continuum
from speaking to singing in their work. See his Pome Poem (1972). - Explore your tongue, lips and throat and the way they can affect how
you speak or make vocal sounds. Push your tongue into different parts
of your mouth or try to make sounds with your mouth closed. You will
find such experiments will enrich your oral delivery though sometimes
in bizarre ways. - Use a tape recorder or computer technology to multitrack the voice,
creating the speaking equivalent of polyphony in music. Multitracking
can create many different relationships between multiple versions of
the same voice. See Charles Bernstein’s My/My/My (1976) or an extract
from Poet Without Language (Smith & Dean republished), on the The
Writing Experiment website. - Use a keyboard sampler or computer to digitally record words and
manipulate them. A sample is a digital recording of a short sound or
word which can then be manipulated with respect to timbre, pitch
220 The Writing Experiment