In Form Episode 3 | Review
In Form is a radio show produced by Siena College English Professor, Dr. James Belflower, with segments written by students in his “ENGL 259 Linguistic Architecture | Histories of Poetic Forms.” In Form is on WVCR 88.3 “The Saint,” Thursday’s at 10pm and is especially useful for anyone who doesn’t have a background in poetry or poetic form and wishes to learn more without the time to read complex books on prosody, metrics, or received forms. This show truly comes full circle in the sense that it does an incredible job explaining the basics: rhyme schemes, author bios and formal specifics, as well as the intricate details of how individual poems are interpreted.
This episode was filled with vibrant topics that commonly go overlooked when discussing poetry. Speakers talked about the comparison between hip-hop music and sonnets, which is most certainly not something we hear every day. As well as performance poetry with a focus on American Sign Language poetry and the interesting double life of the blues musician Robert Johnson. Nowhere else can you find a mix of such fascinating, controversial, and revolutionary topics discussed all relating to the poetic form.
When you think of groundbreaking poets, the rapper Eminem may not be the first person to come to mind; instead, your mind will most likely think of Shakespeare. However, the first segment compares parallels between these two artists about their social and political involvement, particularly Eminem’s support for Black Lives Matter and Shakespeare’s influence on the Renaissance. “If I ever doubted that Eminem fully understood white privilege and the role he plays in it, those doubts were erased when he compares himself to Elvis Presley… that both of them used ‘black music so selfishly’” (Parker 2). This conversational topic alone was enough to spark my interest, but when compared to how well executed the speaker presented it, this truly represents a pivotal point regarding the perspectives of poetry.
This radio show challenges the way we traditionally think of poetry. Megan Collins, the second speaker, discusses ASL poetry and how it gives a voice to those who otherwise might not have one. It is often used to describe “the deaf experience” to shed light on what it means to be deaf in a society that thrives on spoken language (Christie and Wilkins 2). Peter Cook, a deaf writer, uses hand gestures and emphasis on particular words for his interpreter to say certain lines in the poem and not others — showing what’s important without saying anything.
Arguably one of the most interesting and controversial topics when discussing fame is selling your soul to the devil. The last speaker goes in-depth about Robert Johnson’s life and the conspiracies surrounding how he came to fame, such as the myth that he exchanged his soul for guitar virtuosity. Roberts writes about accepting his evil lifestyle and riding along the highway until the day he dies, traveling and singing.
These fascinating, yet controversial and mystical topics make this episode of In Form very compelling. By the end of the show, I was left wanting more. With every episode, you learn something new, even if a form has already been discussed and that’s what I like most about this radio show series.
Additional resources:
Eminem and Rap, Poetry, Race Edited by Scott F. Parker
“Themes and Symbols in ASL Poetry: Resistance, Affirmation, and Liberation” by Karen Christie and Dorothy M. Wilkins
Robert Johnson, Mythmaking, and Contemporary American Culture by Patricia R. Schroeder
