Gives instructions for creating a shadow puppet theater in the classroom. Suggests this as a useful technique for motivating oral communication, particularly with shy children. (SJL)

Argues that the creative procedures of writing, performing, and interpreting poetry are subtly interrelated. Illustrates this argument with examples from the author's own poetry. (MM)

Discusses issues of interpretation versus reading in oral interpretation, or the performance of literature. Offers an extended classroom example to make the case for alternative kinds of performance and their ability to keep practices of performing literature valuable in the current academic scene. (SR)

The art of reading refers to the act of representing and interpreting text through oral dramatic reading. To the dismay of many teachers, reading is becoming a "lost art." Students are expected to apply specific literacy techniques rather than use their imagination to learn to enact text. Based on a study of the reading perceptions of natural oral…

This article examines the role of intergenerational relationships in the lives of experienced poets and writers ("soldiers") and emerging poets and writers in what the author terms Participatory Literacy Communities (PLCs). Drawing from Wenger's (1998) concept of communities of practice, the author uses data from two examples of PLCs--Black…

Outlines common abuses that occur when students first use dramatic analysis in oral interpretation. Offers guidelines to help make students' efforts more productive; uses William Carlos Williams's poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" as an example. (PD)

Outlines an exercise that gets students to experience the oral composition of poetry. Describes methods for implementing the exercise; discusses results and advantages. (PD)

Explains how oral interpretation is uniquely communicative and how the double bind theory of communication can include creativity. Discusses (1) double bind and oral interpretation, (2) creating aesthetic text, and (3) the performance of double bind. (PD)

Uses contemporary language theorists to argue that texts considered nonliterary by traditional standards share properties that theorists praise in literature, such as complexity, richness of language, and potential for interpretation. Insists that performance and literature have a historically sanctioned symbiotic relationship so strong that to…

Reaffirms the position of directors (Peter Brook, Tyrone Guthrie, Peter Hall, and others) concerning the "balance of power" between director and playwright in transforming a playscript into a theatrical performance. (PD)

Presents four professors' views on whether contests or festivals are the more valuable formats for developing the art of oral interpretation in students. (PD)

Shows how teachers can begin with the sound of a poem in performance as a springboard to a critical understanding of the writer's art. Provides suggestions helpful in staging performances. (GT)

Finds that students reported lower communication apprehension after both oral interpretation and public speaking classes, with no significant difference in reduction between the two classes. (SR)

Points out that issues in performance studies (oral interpretation) such as natural and literary language, performing ideology, and marginalized voices are not only not revolutionary but an extension or a return to traditional concerns of a 300-year tradition. (SR)

Argues that reading literature and poetry aloud dramatically is one way to catch youngsters' attention, turning them into lifelong lovers of the written and spoken word. Offers tips to prepare for an effective oral reading, including warming up the voice, and getting to know the text by breaking it into the three critical elements of any story:…