It’s all in the reflexes. I mean delivery; delivery.

Big trouble in little China references aside, I think the sentiment (about delivery) rings true.

I went to a poetry/literature-esque thingy yesterday. I am not a poetry fan, in fact I’m often quite anti-poetry. However, some of the things that were read out I will admit were quite good.

Okay, very good.

Not only were they well written they were also – and this is the important part – very well delivered by the people that had written them. Poetry, it strikes me, is terrible if you read it yourself, alone, in the quiet. It must be read out I say, and preferably in a group setting (with beer, but that’s just my suggestion).

I think that works the same with plays. I studied the Homecoming for A-levels and found the play a pause-riddled agony to read. Then we went to go see it and it was actually pretty damn good. Plays are meant to be acted, not read, and poetry is meant to be read aloud. At least this is my theory.

Incidentally, that run of the Homecoming was directed by Michael Attenborough (I think…) and I saw Richard Attenborough there! He was, like, not all of ten feet away! And short! And bearded! AND RICHARD FUCKING ATTENBOROUGH! I was elated, no-one else seemed to know who he was. I went home and wrote RICHARD FUCKING ATTENBOROUGH across my torso.

You think I’m kidding, don’t you?

But yes, my point above was the point I was trying to make; taking things out of context makes them bad. Poetry and plays need to be done in the right way or else they don’t work. Helicoptors don’t go underwater and so on.

Hell, apparently even my short-stories are better when read aloud by me. But then I’m awesome and I’ve seen Richard Attenborough, so what did I expect?