Suggestions are offered in this paper for adapting C. S. Lewis's poems for oral interpretation. A discussion of Lewis's lifelong correspondence with his friend Arthur Greeves provides insights into Lewis's perceptions of his own writing. Eighty poems selected from Lewis's "Poems" as appropriate for oral interpretation are classified…

The ideas of four contemporary poets--Ann Deagon, Lyn Lifshin, Marge Piercy, and Alice Walker--concerning the oral interpretation of poetry are presented in this paper. The poets' ideas relate to the following topics: (1) the importance of reading poems aloud; (2) reasons why they give poetry readings, and effects of their poetry readings on their…

Noting that scholars have too willingly accepted Plato's assumption that one could not successfully be both an actor and a rhapsode (reciter or singer of epic poetry), this paper suggests that placing the "mixed style" of the rhapsode's performance art within the context of the Homeric sensibility and the cultural shift into literacy…

A study examined the question of what sequence patterns, if any, of covering oral interpretation topics emerge from forensic coaching sessions. To answer the question it was first necessary to analyze the process used by the coaches. Process was defined as the action of passing through continuing development from a beginning to a contemplated end.…

The successful oral reading of poetry requires that oral interpreters conduct phenomenological investigations of the first lines of the poems, not merely to make these lines happen properly but to suggest what has preceded the first line. Individual word meanings in the opening lines of a poem establish "structures of intentionality"--the…

It is a surprising fact that a student of speech can compete in prose, poetry, drama, and program oral interpretation without ever needing to develop two characters, without ever needing to establish two separate focal points in the same piece, and without ever learning to adapt to a new style of writing. This can be done if the student simply…

A study was conducted to elicit the responses of five college students to their involvement with a single poem over a period of three weeks to determine if such involvement led to a greater appreciation and understanding of the poem. Each student began with a silent reading of the poem, moved to a study of it based only on silent readings, then…

Choral reading can be used by teachers to enhance children's appreciation for poetry and to develop their personal, social, psychological, cognitive/affective, and language values. It is useful for teachers to begin by creating an awareness in children of the basic elements of choral reading: tempo, rhythm, pitch, stress, and juncture. Then an…

Oral interpretation of translated Chinese poetry is both difficult and audacious. However, non-native readers are less bound by the Chinese literary canon than native readers and therefore are more free to develop their personal taste and discover new modes of expression. As a result, these performers are potentially ideal translators of Chinese…

The (CBS Radio) Columbia Workshop, formed in 1936, encouraged the writing and production of creative, non-traditional radio drama such as Archibald MacLeish's verse play "The Fall of the City," which aired on April 11, 1937. MacLeish considered radio the ideal medium for poetry because it offers only aural stimuli without competition…

Composing oral poems and storytelling are two exercises that speech teachers can use in oral interpretation courses. Conducting the oral poetry exercise early in an introductory interpretation course allows students to become acquainted with each other and to encourage each other while sharing something of themselves with the entire class. This…

Defninig rhetorical analysis as a means of studying writer/audience relationships allowing both intrinsic and extrinsic analysis, the author discusses the three sections of Levertov's poem, "From a Notebook: October '68--May '69." Section 1 is the speaker's personal comparison of her associations with life and death, comparison of…

Eight coaches of oral interpretation from colleges across the United States were asked to tape record the coaching sessions that brought eight novices to tournament readiness. All of the students used the same three-poem program on the general theme of animals and children, but each student was required to write the introduction and transitions.…

Designed to help students respond in a positive way to poetry, poetry theater integrates dramatic technique with various aspects of reading, writing, analyzing, and reciting poetry. Poetry theater presentations require approximately five class periods to complete, allowing 45 minutes per class. The first class period should be devoted to choral…

Each hemisphere of the brain has several primary functions that are interesting to explore in terms of all areas of creative endeavor, particularly those involving both speech/language and imagery. Therefore in preparing students to interpret and share the artisitc expression of the poet, the writer, the storyteller, or the dramatist, the teacher…