Back in September 2018 I posted my first Rapid Rhyme.
I didn’t define what a rapid rhyme was but had in mind that it, and any subsequent similar rhymes, should be fairly short (hence rapid you silly man!), should be written as they came to mind, with no editing whatsoever, and should rhyme (is this man as dense as he makes out?)
I’ve only posted 35 Rapid Rhymes so far but many of them have been influenced by blogs I’ve read, by current events, or by something encountered on my daily walks.
One of the writers I follow, trE, at A Cornered Gurl, did me the honour of liking the idea of Rapid Rhymes so much that she started to write her own. Not only did she write them, but she started to narrate them too. An example, The Roamer, can be found here.
I rather liked trE’s idea and wondered whether I should have a go at the Spoken Word myself, an idea I quickly abandoned. After all I have a squeaky voice, not at all fit for reading poetry, and definitely not my own poetry.
I then came across another blogger, Tom Alexander, whose poetry blog, The Lighthouse, features lots of very professional sounding audible poetry. Tom assures me he uses very low-tech methods, but he certainly achieves some very good results. Check out Fulfilment here.
This resurrected the idea of recording some of my poems. I could never achieve the quality of Tom, but I might just have a go……….so I did! I chose a suitable short poem and recorded it……….11 times, 11 different versions, all of varying squeakiness, or huskiness, or choking half way through. It wasn’t perfect, but it sounded not too bad.
Then I hit a brick wall.
The ultra-simple, free version of WordPress I was using did not support audio files.
Step forward a fairy godmother in the form of Sue at Nan’s Farm who offered to host my audio files. I had to think about that very kind offer. Meanwhile, I researched other ways of being heard.
Now we have lift off.
Watch this space!
Yay, Peter! This is gonna be awesome! And thank you for the mention and sharing Tom’s work too!
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Thank you trE, but don’t get too excited. Awesome may be a bit too grand a statement!
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Lol! I think you’ll do just fine.
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Ah ha! Can’t wait to have a listen Peter. Before I started embedding the audio in WordPress, I just uploaded them to Soundcloud and then linked to that. Soundcloud is quite and has a small community of poets on there also. Thanks for the mention, a warm surprise on a very cold day.
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*quite good
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Oh yes and Soundcloud has listening metrics. So, you can see who’s been listening and where in the world they are. It’s quite a strange feeling seeing that people in the most remote places might be listening to your words…
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My attempts will be very basic Tom but, given time, may improve to kindergarten level!
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I’m looking forward to this Peter! (One way to get around in the event you are still looking for other options, set up a youtube channel and record your work while the video is say…..a photo of something if you don’t want to be in the video, then you can put the youtube video directly into your post!).
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Thank you for the advice Colleen.
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You are welcome. I look forward to hearing your voice.
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Ok…where is it. I would love to hear another squeaky voice. 🙂
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It’s in the garage for its annual service!
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😁
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What an interesting idea. I can’t wait to hear them. I’ve never liked hearing my own voice recorded, so you’re far more adventurous than I could ever be!
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Oh, I’m sure you’ll be doing a nature vlog before too long Louise!
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Um, I’m going to be awkward (no change there, I hear you say). I rarely enjoy hearing poetry out loud, even though I know that’s exactly how poetry was disseminated for centuries, and world-wide. Partly it’s the holy ‘I’m reading poetry’ voice, partly that it’s not declaimed in the way my mind is declaiming it. But your poetry – your voice. Why not? This could indeed be a fun new departure.
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I always thought we blogged for ourselves anyway, so I’m doing it for me. You will be most welcome to tag along as always. How’s about this then………..
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You’re absolutely right. You should do what feels right for you and I WILL listen to your recordings, but reserve the right to prefer reading your offerings! Which I note you have just published. I’ll be over there soon – promise!
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Look forward to hearing your voice and I’m sure I shan’t be disappointed!
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Oh, how exciting, I hope it works out for you.
It it all goes pear shaped I’m still happy to host them for you. The recording is stored on my site but not seen and you simply paste the link on yours.
I know what you mean about pauses and coughing. I use the free version of Audacity to edit mine. It’s great fun to play around with. 🙂
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Thanks again Sue.
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YAY! How wonderful, Peter! I look forward to this!!! 🙂
YAY for your friends, especially SweetSue who have helped you in this endeavor and new fun in your bloglife! 🙂
I love having people to read to me. And I really enjoy writers reading their own poems or stories to me!
I have a friend who writes GREAT poetry and calls me on the phone to read his new poems to me. I love that! 🙂
(((HUGS))) 🙂
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That’s a unique privilege to be a sounding board for new poems!
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Wonderful! It’s great to push ourselves to do something that terrifies us… Or even makes us nervous a bit… Looking forward to it!
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