As I mentioned on Tuesday, Marge Piercy would be reading at the Brookline Booksmith last night. Well after an hour and a half journey (no wonder I got off the Green Line as soon as I could), I managed to get to the reading on time.
Ms. Piercy read between 12 and 15 poems and they were all amazing, but perhaps it was her personality which shone through most. She started the whole reading off by putting a cover on the microphone and saying “practice safe-sex with microphones.” Not only was it hilarious, but it was genuinely adorable. This set the mood for her personality and her poetry. She was very quirky and it just added to her charm and presence. Half way through the reading she decided she was hot so paused and took her shoes off – it just made me smile. I’m not sure which poem was my favorite and if I had to choose one I’d probably say Deadlock Wedlock because of where my academic interests lie, but I really enjoyed, Football for Dummies, Collectors, One Reason I Like Opera, and Deadlock Wedlock.
The most interesting aspect, aside from the reading, was the crowd. I was the only male under 40 and was only one of maybe five. I was not in the least bit surprised there were that few (actually felt like there were a lot) because her main draw is feminists and women, even though her works cover much more. The only thing I found strange about the crowd was their responses to the poems. I’m not sure why it was, but they all sort of moaned/grunted at the end of the poems. I’m sure it was showing appreciation for the reading as Ms. Piercy asked all applause to be held after the first poem. It just seemed odd at the time.
I’m glad I went and I got a book signed for myself (seen above) and one signed for a friend in the UK. And I also met someone else who has the R2D2 Droid phone – kind of awesome!