Confession Tuesday... I have a Whale of a Confession!

I confess that I sometimes see things not as they are. There was the Public Service Announcement on a billboard with a woman hands on each of her cheeks (facial just to clarify) pushing them together with the heading that I thought said "Walk-in Screaming Mammograms!" Upon second look I realized it said "Wali-in Screening Mammograms."

So today I was looking at the sidebar on my blog to see who among those I regularly read might have a post new to me that I needed to check out. Two of my favorite blogs are Whale Sound and Very Like A Whale. These are both creations of Nic Sebastian. I read the following: I meant 'closed' not 'on hiatus' and it sounded like a fascinating name for a poem - already I'm thinking where I might take such a poem. Then the shock! I realized this was not a poem read aloud by the incredibly talented Nic Sebastian but rather a blog post on Very Like a Whale announcing the closure of Whale Sound.

This was a more serious laps in my understanding then the screaming mammograms because over the past year or so Nic has assembled a remarkable collection of poems in which she graced with her own voice by reading them. There are quite a few blogs that truly would miss if they disappeared of cyber space. I recently experienced the disappearance that left a big void in stimulating creative thoughts. This too is big! Fortunately, Nic has left us a marvelous archive of both spoken and written word. That we still have.

My Whale of a Confession is that Nic's reading of poems aloud is such a turn on. I don't mean sexually or anything like that, I just mean it has a quality that transcends any other voice reading poetry I've experianced. Oh there are others that can read exceptionally well. And often do their own work better than anyone else can... but Nic's transcendence carries over to other people's poetry.

What I like about it is the uniquely soft yet succinct diction. The tone is unmatched by most others. There is something about it that is so genuine. Even in soft volume it is so powerful and I believe the turn on is that she can deliver you right into the poem making you one with it.

When Nic asked if she could do one of my own poems and I agreed, I was less then enthusiastic  about the one selected. It was one that had been published a couple years back and you kind of move on from these things. After hearing Nic's read, it brought back all the excitement I  originally had with this poem.

I've subjected others in my household to Nic's recordings. My wife remarked how much better she liked Nic's rendition of my poem. My daughter Shannon likes to tease me reading poems in her best Nic Sebastian impersonation. She knows she can get a laugh out of me, but don't worry Nic, you are way safe.

There are particular poems that Nic's voice is especially well suited for. I would love to hear her read aloud many of Sylvia Plath's poem or Sharon Olds' work. But I digress. The point of this confession is simply to acknowledge what I saw as a very successful poetry project. One in which I'm sure her time spent was a personal sacrifice and had to have a labor of love aspect to it for her to do so many. And to acknowledge how much is lost with it's end. I don't think I'm along is feeling the loss.