OnPoEvMo: The Creator — a Poem for Three Voices, April 2007

This is an experiment for me — creating a poem for multiple voices and yet, it is only me speaking. Very tricky. I did it by layering my voice in Audacity and I am not sure I quite pulled off how I envisioned it. Once again, this is part of my OnPoEvMo Project.

The Creator: A poem for three voices and one person
(April 2007)

Listen to the poem

I am a I am a I am a
Writer
Composer
Poet
I crawl within I crawl within I crawl within
the notes
the sounds
the words
And look for the possibilities
of creative expression of creative expression of creative expression
I wonder at the
I wonder at the colors I hear
words I find I wonder at the
rhythms of the world and sink into my thoughts
dialogue
melody and memory and music
I bring my thoughts to life on the bars and staff and measures and move your feet to dance
And make you think of all the chances
that come with the roll of the dice
and invention of something new —
the character the seam between the words — the space
where silence exists
The composition is
rich with nuance rich with nuance rich with nuance
so that every single word
has meaning has meaning has meaning
I indent
I avoid punctuation
I establish my theme and play with your
expectations, and remind you of why you
are here, inside these words are here, inside these notes are here, inside these sounds
Start inside me and move outwards
Start inside me and move inward
Start inside me and move upward
Explore yourself through the eyes of others
Drift into the air, molecules excited,
music is made here as invisibility
I am I am I am
a poet
a composer
a writer
Come, follow me on this adventure Come, follow me on this adventure Come, follow me on this adventure
of notes
of sounds
of words
Magic! Magical! Magnificent!
I am found inside the I am found inside the I am found inside the
mind
soul
spirit
We are one! The creator! We are one! The creator! We are one! The creator!

Peace (in many voices),
Kevin

17 Comments
  1. Kevin, this is simply brilliant! The way the text is written in compelling all on it’s own. With the three voices (and one person) it takes on a unique texture. I’ve never read/heard anything like this before. Thanks for sharing it on your blog.

    Cheers,
    Darren Kuropatwa

  2. Thank you everyone
    I appreciate the feedback. I had it in my mind but I wasn’t sure how it would come out on the page (and in the ear). I still don’t quite think it is right but I don’t have hours to play with the recording process, either. I did imagine tinkering with the voices (using effects) to make each voice a little more distinct, but never had the time.
    I appreciate the thoughts.
    Kevin

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  6. Hi Kevin,
    I just wanted to let you know I think this poem is great! I’m doing a lesson on multi-voice poems today with my high-schoolers. I’m going to show them this poem and I was hoping to include the author’s name. I’m going to refer them to your site, but Please let me know if you want me to give them more than the name Kevin.
    Thanks for your creative ideas!
    Alicia

  7. I stumbled across this page while searching for three voice poem examples. I’m currently putting together some research on boys and literacy, and wanted to write a poem from the view of a teacher, a writing expert, and a boy. Your poem gave me the inspiration I needed. I posted my poem on my blog, and linked back here. Thanks for sharing this — you helped me get unstuck!

  8. Hi, I love your poem and would love to use it for an English class assignment, but I would also like to give you full credit. I can just use the sight but if you would like me to give more specifics please let me know!

  9. Hey, Kevin, This is great! Not sure why it took me so long to find your multi-voiced poem, but I’ll be using it as an example for my teaching comp students as they complete their multigenre inquiry / writing projects! Hope you are well! Cheers, Carl

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