How to perform misspellings aloud

May 18, 2022 12:49 PM

I will be reading a poem at an upcoming gathering. The poem includes a number of words which are deliberately mis-spelled by the poet as a reflection of the writing of a character in the poem. The mis-spellings are part of the point. How can I read the poem aloud in a way that will appropriately convey the mis-spellings?

The poem is "David Talamantez on the Last Day of Second Grade" by Rosemary Catacalos.

posted by gauche to Media & Arts (9 answers total)

I'd just read them phonetically, like:

Tomush noys!

toe-mush noyes!
posted by jabes at 12:58 PM on May 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

What a great poem!
This might be too gimmicky, but if it’s a small venue you could also write the “misspellings” in large (childlike) print on pieces of paper and hold them up for that part of the poem, while also saying/reading the words phonetically. If you really want to get into the spirit of the poem, you could throw each page into the audience after reading it (like David does) and end with a paper that has a crossed out red X and “David’s” handwriting in blue saying “yes David yes”
posted by sleepingwithcats at 1:07 PM on May 18, 2022 [3 favorites]

This is a lovely poem!

I just read through in my head, pronouncing the ~mis-spelled words phonetically. Below are my guesses at what they might have been ~meant to say, for David. To me, the sounds are sufficiently different from what-I-think-they-might-mean that reading them out with the *prosody* of the ~meanings (whatever you deem those to be!) but the phonetics of the spellings in-character could convey that David understands there is underlying meaning, and may well understand exactly what *is* being asked of him, but just doesn’t have the vocab to mirror it back.

(This would be my same approach for reading a line of a foreign language in a poem for listeners who don’t necessarily speak it, like the Italian in The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock. Knowing what the statement means in that other language and what the meaning of that statement is in relationship to the rest of the poem, and attempting to evoke these interrelated meanings, even if the audience I read to might not be able to speak that other language.)

Alay ercng! Sast in ao snet!
(? Sit in your seat?)

Rars aone bfo your spek! No finagn! Be cayt!
(Raise hand before you speak? No fidgeting? Be quiet?)
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 1:07 PM on May 18, 2022

I like the idea of doing it phonetically. In some settings you could also display a visual of the relevant words as you read them.
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:07 PM on May 18, 2022

I really enjoyed this poem and the parts you are asking about are a bit of a challenge to pronounce, but what they are based on is in the Rules section. So it's something that your audience will have heard already.

I am wondering if you could print out that section for audience members and when you are reading this portion, perhaps you could change your voice, make it higher? I agree with others who suggest that you pronounce the words as they appear. Also, can you move to another part of the stage? Or sit down cross-legged, slumped, and then stand again? And maybe sit back down but with great posture and your head high as you say, "Yes, David, yes!"
posted by danabanana at 1:20 PM on May 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

So lovely and sad. I lived in San Antonio for about a decade so to me these really reflect the south Texas accent, especially "neck name" for "nickname" and "be cayt" for "be quiet."

So I would say them phonetically but with the cadence & emphasis of the intended words. What's phonetic for you might not be phonetic for the author or for David Talamentez but I think that's the beauty of poetry.
posted by muddgirl at 1:25 PM on May 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

I prefer the ideas about using visuals and a different voice. Mispronunciations could make the listening audience think that David doesn't speak at a level typical for a 2nd-grader, and then wonder why (not a native speaker? speech disorder, learning disability?) - while most readers of the poem would probably assume he pronounces the words typically, just spells at a little under grade-level. The former interpretation would add a layer to the poem that I don't think is unsupported by the text, but that I think is not the default reading, so if you do that you'd want to be doing it with awareness.

I wasn't sure at first about visuals in case someone in the audience might be hard of sight, but I actually think it would still be effective to just hear the childish voice pronouncing the words correctly and then "He gets 70 on Rules, 10 on Spelling", with (wry? sad?) emphasis on the "10 on Spelling".
posted by trig at 2:07 PM on May 18, 2022 [4 favorites]

the parts you are asking about are a bit of a challenge to pronounce, but what they are based on is in the Rules section. So it's something that your audience will have heard already.

danabanana makes a great point. The misspelled section is an echo of the Rules in the previous stanza, so you've just said those phrases with the attitude of an authoritative adult. Then you can read the misspellings more phonetically but with the tone of a child confidently copying the intonation of the adult they just heard, perhaps slowing down a bit to indicate the pace of a second grader's handwriting. I think that would resolve nicely into the "70 on Rules, 10 on Spelling" line.
posted by doift at 12:39 PM on May 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you all for your thoughts about this. I will explore a couple of ways of doing this and may let you know what I decide on.
posted by gauche at 3:36 PM on May 22, 2022