When art songs and persona poems are performed together, a poet illuminates an aspect of another’s life while the music fills in the shadows.
At the “Garden Songs” Faculty Artist Concert Series on March 17, Associate Professor of English Liz Whiteacre read her persona poems. Meanwhile, Adjunct Professor Meadow Bridgham played their piano melodies to accompany Whiteacre’s poems. Whiteacre and baritone singer Andrew Durham would alternate while Bridgham played the piano.
Art songs first appeared in the 18th century and were usually performed in peoples’ homes, bringing together singers and pianists to interpret poetry set to music, according to Vocal Arts DC.
With persona poems, the poet’s goal is to assume a voice and a perspective that is not their own, according to Whiteacre. She said the more a poet researches their subject whether it is a person, animal or inanimate object the more authentic the writing becomes, enhancing the reader’s engagement with the poem. For Whiteacre, research can be done via spending time with others, watching testimonials on YouTube or reading books on a specific subject matter.
Whiteacre said she tunes into her own chronic pain and life events when writing persona poems. To her, tapping into those emotions helps sitting down to an empty page, bringing out the most realistic and relatable experience for the reader.
“If we can understand what life is like through metaphor, imagery and the emotional impact of song and poetry, it makes us more compassionate,” Whiteacre said. “It also better prepares us for all of those things in life that come our way, that are unexpected, that we’re going to have to negotiate ourselves.”
If interested in writing persona poems, Whiteacre said there are several ways to get involved on campus, including the upcoming Open Mic Night at the Krannert Memorial Library on March 31, taking poetry-writing and music-composition classes or joining the Creative Writing Registered Student Organization.
Thinking through how people might respond and having a moment to pause slows us down and helps us become more empathetic and compassionate, Whiteacre said. She said she encourages one to not only learn from writing persona poems, but by considering one’s point of view, emotions and background experiences, one learns about others and oneself.
“We all have the power to do that,” Whiteacre said. “Even if we’re not sitting down to write poems, we can stop and think about a situation that we want to engage with and consider, well, what might this person’s point of view be?”
