Performance poetry finds a connect with Puneites

Known the world over from the beginning of the 1980s,Performance poetry has always been there. Rajendran,who is representing the city at the Poetry with Prakriti 2010,Poetry Festival in Chennai,is just one of the many poetry lovers who are into performance poetry. “I think poetry has an inherent need to connect to the audience and therefore this kind of poetry is picking up. I have seen that it is being promoted in Pune and people are getting a good platform,” says Rajendran.

An ideal performance poetry involves direct interaction between the listeners and the poet. It is also seen that such kind of pieces are high on dramatic value with intense emotions. Pradeep Vaiddya,director,Progressive Dramatic Association (PDA),says,“This is something which has been well received in the city. Theatrical presentations highlighting poetry is quite common. Workshops offering training in this art have also come up.” The PDA is a 60-year-old organisation and is staging a performance-based poetry play titled Jhaade Matiche Manachi Kavita,which is into its second edition.

The same performance poetry directed by Aanand Chabukswar was first introduced to the city in 2006. Says Chabuskwar,“It’s a misconception that poetry is not understood by people. In fact,a lot of people enjoy poetry in its traditional form. What we have been doing is an experiment.”