I have a question for you...yes you
My Aunt Darlene used to always tell me, "Take no stock in rumors, however, if you hear the same thing about the same person from 3 or more sources who you know do not know each other you may want to check into it yourself before blowing it off as a rumor."
Since I have began performing in 1999 the most common statement made to me about me has been "You're deep." Initially I took this as a compliment, under the poor assumption that all those who were saying it actually understood my work. The shock of my life came when I asked my homegirl, Toni Stanza, if she understood my work and her response was something to the affect of, "I understand enough to know that you what you're talking about but not enough to fully comprehend it myself."
I began taking an unofficial poll and I slowly realized that the only people who understood my work were predominantly other poets. I have no problem with being misunderstood for that has been the story of my life (tell you later). What I have issue with is that it has been my desire to inspire and encourage those who hear my work and its difficult to inspire a person who cannot understand what you are talking about.
I think that the masses of people are more intelligent than they give themselves credit for and I aim to write for the unrecognized intelligence within; but when I voice this to audiences the response is that I am calling the audience stupid "in a smart way". This speaks to the level of misunderstanding that occurs in relationship to me as an artist.
I also have knowledge of being rejected from several performance opportunities because the promoters of said events thought I was talented but "too deep" and thus not entertaining for their audience demographic.
Taking my aunt's advice I have to ask myself am I too deep to be accesible or am I just trying to access the wrong demographics?
I am a performance writer with a heavier emphasis on writing than performance in an arena where people are often more captured by great performances and writing seems to be a welcomed extra. I want the art to speak for itself, but I am the face and voice of this art coming through me so if I am percieved as inaccessible to the listener then does this not make the work inaccesible as well.
Funny thing is if I am "too deep" to be accesible then no one is even reading this.
So honestly do you think 13 of Nazareth is too deep?
Since I have began performing in 1999 the most common statement made to me about me has been "You're deep." Initially I took this as a compliment, under the poor assumption that all those who were saying it actually understood my work. The shock of my life came when I asked my homegirl, Toni Stanza, if she understood my work and her response was something to the affect of, "I understand enough to know that you what you're talking about but not enough to fully comprehend it myself."
I began taking an unofficial poll and I slowly realized that the only people who understood my work were predominantly other poets. I have no problem with being misunderstood for that has been the story of my life (tell you later). What I have issue with is that it has been my desire to inspire and encourage those who hear my work and its difficult to inspire a person who cannot understand what you are talking about.
I think that the masses of people are more intelligent than they give themselves credit for and I aim to write for the unrecognized intelligence within; but when I voice this to audiences the response is that I am calling the audience stupid "in a smart way". This speaks to the level of misunderstanding that occurs in relationship to me as an artist.
I also have knowledge of being rejected from several performance opportunities because the promoters of said events thought I was talented but "too deep" and thus not entertaining for their audience demographic.
Taking my aunt's advice I have to ask myself am I too deep to be accesible or am I just trying to access the wrong demographics?
I am a performance writer with a heavier emphasis on writing than performance in an arena where people are often more captured by great performances and writing seems to be a welcomed extra. I want the art to speak for itself, but I am the face and voice of this art coming through me so if I am percieved as inaccessible to the listener then does this not make the work inaccesible as well.
Funny thing is if I am "too deep" to be accesible then no one is even reading this.
So honestly do you think 13 of Nazareth is too deep?
Comments
To begin,it's my hope you don’t equate "too deep" with "too much"...
The words you’ve been given aren’t meant to placate the people; rather an effort to get them to acknowledge what Is. It’s believable that promoters of certain events wouldn’t be willing to receive you; point blank, awareness may not be the ultimate goal of those events- and that’s what you bring.
You said its "difficult to inspire a person who cannot understand what you are talking about”..I’m not so certain it is(difficult). People have felt led to do all manner of things without full knowledge of the message/source; positive and negative alike.
Do you inspire and encourage those who hear your work? Absolutely. Will they(we)understand it completely? That’s up to our attempt at discernment- at some point, it is a matter of "He who has ears, let him hear..."