Poetry & Techno: May Their Futures Meet at the Beat? (Part 3 of 3)

In my mind, the palate for both techno and poetry is a massive suggestion for the two to fuse together and to create on a blank canvas. I foresee an opportunity, both in content and cultural relevance, to create something that is beautiful and authentic in both of these mediums coming together. They are both emotional experiences that could synthesize into a superpower of an emotional medium. The possibilities for both musical recordings, and themed live performances seem to all lead to bringing listeners, viewers, and experiencers into the same euphoric state.

Imagine an event when these two mediums are fused together. The best contemporary voices of poetry read to an atmospheric beat, creating a tonal narrative throughout the duration of an evening, the beats are then mixed at lower levels of volume, letting people either dance, or converse, until a new groove kicks in, and a new poet is left to capture your attention. Imagine the same images and sounds paratactically existing in the minds of everyone in the room, unbroken, for an entire evening. From a perspective of someone who deeply cares about each of these cultures, it would be interesting to see how the blending of the two could change, and strengthen, the future of each in a way that invites an audience from all facets of life.

I know this possibly seems like a medium that has been tried and failed, or even that music mixed with poetry isn’t necessarily a new idea, (there are current voices, such as Kate Tempest, who have an interesting blend of music, poetry, and rap) but my main proposal is that we continue to think about the medium of poetry in different ways in order to create a ‘scene’ that is inclusive (and fun) for communities at large. Much like the claims of Deresiewicz, we should begin to have a multi-faceted approach to the promotion of poetry, in order to expand the target audience that we aim for.

And if something like this fails? We know we still have The Fiddlehead, or UNB’s English program, or one of the many other great similar institutions across Canada that will continue to foster the state of poetry moving forward. Poetry itself will continue to thrive and strengthen, waiting for its time to be of primary cultural importance, once more; I have faith that this time will soon come, which, in my mind, makes it all well worth the risk.

Steven Suntres is The Fiddlehead's editorial assistant, a member of QWERTY's editoral board, and a UNB graduate student.