‘King Cyrus Issues an Edict’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko
King Cyrus Issues an Edict “Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia: ‘All the kingdoms of the earth hath the...
SCP Spring 2021 Poetry Reading Videos
The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.
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Brian, thank you for these 2 hilarious reminders that there have been - and still are - 'entertainers' (in several…
Thank you so much SCP for my Honorable Mention in the Great American Poetry Contest. It is an honor to…
Self-delusion is a standard human failing, but it tends to be more common (and visible) in the wealthy than in…
Brian, I may be among those who do not recognize these personalities but recognize them in others I have observed…
good job to all the amazing poets
Thank you so much for uploading these sublime poetry readings!
I unfortunately wasn’t able to attend the reading yesterday, but I am grateful I can re-watch the videos over and over again for inspiration.
Once again thank you for uploading the poetry readings, and a job well done to all the poets who presented their works!
A great big thank you to Evan Mantyk and Frank Yu for making all this possible; then to the poets for some fabulous readings and great poetry; finally, thanks for all those who attended the event – it felt very live and I know there was massive encouragement going! I certainly had a ball in my role as host/presenter. What amazing work we witnessed being performed! All were prize-winners but a special prize must go to the smartest person present: which has to go to Andrew Benson Brown dressed as Byron – and with all the props!! A sterling ad-dress!! Check him out.
Thanks very much for uploading these professionally presented poetry readings. Although I didn’t manage to attend on this occasion, I intend to zoom in for the next early morning event. Andrew Benson Brown really got into the spirit of the occasion.
Yes David, spirit is everything where poetry is involved! My wife has a massive wardrobe and she spent a good while having me try different things on and pinning things in place. Then she had to leave and I wore the outfit around for the next two hours while waiting for the event to start because I knew if I took anything off I wouldn’t be able to put it back on.
I was watching the video of your reading of Masefield’s ‘Sea Fever’ and enjoyed it. Coincidentally I just got into Masefield recently and was rather impressed by his cycle of Arthurian poems. Amazing that he came so close to beating out Tennyson for the spot of longest-reigning poet laureate! That position has become a joke since it changed from being a lifetime position to an annual one.
Thanks to all readers for some splendid poetry. My plug got pulled near the finish, as I was trying to ask for a recommendation of a good overview of the employment and qualities of various meters and line lengths. I have Mary Oliver’s book; any others I should know about?
Hi Julian – really glad you enjoyed it! Probably the most definitive book on meter is The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics – but it’s a monster book. There are other more sharp and incisive works like Beum/Shapiro’s Prosody Handbook. Avoid texts like Robert Haas’ A Little Book On Form – the false modesty in the word ‘little’ helps to conceal the fact that this is a dreadful post-modern primer bringing in some real classics to validate the free verse nonsense that is really being advocated. But for me, the most helpful and simple book to use, and which I cited twice last night, is Stephen Fry’s The Ode Less Travelled – it’s incredibly readable, fun even, and there is a Digital version too. Enjoy.
Thanks, James. Wouldn’t you know it? Shapiro was on the faculty at UC Davis when I was a music undergrad there in the ’60s. I’ll definitely pick up a copy of his book and the always enjoyable Stephen Fry’s.
A big thank you to James Sale for his incredible hosting. Also, thank you to the visionary Mike Bryant who is the one who originally conceived of the reading and James as the host.
-Evan Mantyk
This was a lot of fun. Thanks for the praise, James! Loved your intro about the sublime purpose of the SCP mission in contrast to all the fake poetry out there. Felt great to perform alongside such impressive talents as James Tweedie, Mark Stone, Brian Yapko, and SJB!
I caught part of your reading, Andrew. I don’t think it was a performance at all. You ARE Byron.
You could be right Mike – ABB has massive talent and it seems that Byron is the master spirit he follows! And thanks for the idea and for suggesting me – I had no idea.
You are very welcome. You did an excellent job. I can hardly wait for all the new readings coming up. The talent and drive here at SCP is unstoppable. I’m sure our efforts are bringing many back to an appreciation of rhythm, rhyme and rapture.
Ha, well my aim isn’t very good and I practice monogamy. But on the off chance that my poetry makes me rich then I will be in a better position to cultivate that image.
Very impressive and very enjoyable.
I was wondering if that actually was Byron’s skull Mr Brown was drinking from – it would explain a lot!
This was huge fun. I especially liked the way Andrew Benson Brown embraced his subject to the full – highly entertaining. How could I follow that!? In fact, I was thinking, how could I follow any of these accomplished poets with their remarkable poetry. I was proud and pleased to do so. It was wonderful to put voices and faces to the wonderful words that ignite the pages of the SCP every single day. What an honor! I hope this is the first of many.
It was an honor and a joy to participate in this event! Everyone was amazing. Thank you to everyone who organized, inspired, hosted, read and attended. And I second Susan’s comment: what a gift to finally be able to put voices and faces to so many accomplished poets whose work always inspires me!
I loved every minute of this! True newbie that I am, I’ve actually never heard a poetry reading before, and no doubt I just started at the top!
Faces and voices were the best part of the event for me. And, of course, hearing the poems read by the poets, themselves! What fun to be a part of such an upbeat, affirming event in praise of formal poetry!
I want to thank Evan, of course and Frank for their work behind the scenes.
But it is James Sale who gets the final kudo for his hosting, his wonderful reading of Sasha’s poem, his complimentary commentary on each poem and, especially, for his erudite comments on poetry at the outset–comments which I hope find their way into print, perhaps as part of the introduction to the next section of his English Cantos.
Bravo to all.
Thanks everyone – it was a sheer joy working with you all. I am sure James, there will be an opportunity to get some of these ideas into print in due course. And Evan and I are hoping to be able to run this event every quarter: so this event was all about the competition winners. Future events will focus on forms, techniques or topics and I am looking to invite 5 or 6 SCP poets to join me to explore some specifics and read one of their poems. The key thing is to maintain the format but ring some significant changes on the content and poets. Of course, some poets will appear more than once! Hope this whets your appetites!