2008 Woodie Awards
Fern Davye takes poetry to a new level
Paula Canning
Issue date: 10/9/03 Section: News Stories
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A crowd comprised of roughly 100 students and faculty from the Assumption community sat quietly in the dimly lit auditorium of La Masion, not knowing what to expect of the mysterious woman, clad head to toe in black, on the stage before them. Suddenly, the silence is broken, as spoken word artist Fern Davye began to quote the words of Adrienne Rich:
"I am an instrument in the shape of a woman trying to translate pulsation into images for the relief of the body and the reconstruction of the mind."
"This is my life," said Davye, who later described Rich's words as the manifesto to her work. Equipped with 500 works from 95 poets of diverse cultures and ages, the New Jersey native travels the world 250 days a year to read to college campuses all over the world.
Davye's September 9th appearance at Assumption, sponsored by the English Department, Women Studies Departments, and the Student Government Association, was a poetry reading taken to an all-new level.
"I don't think of what I do as dramatizing the poem. I think of myself at the intermediate between the poem and the audience," Davye said. "It's lifting language off the page and delivering it mid-air."
Throughout the performance, Davye's voice was sometimes a whisper, sometimes a song, sometimes silent. Her variations of vocal rhythms, volume, and intensity combined with physical animation aimed to move the audience to interpretation and appreciation of the works.
"I think that Davye portrayed not only what the poet's intentions were
for the poem, but also an immense energy, which surrounded her words and actions on stage," said Senior Stephanie Montaquilla. "She made the words come alive inside us and made us feel the flow of the poetry throughout our whole bodies."
Professor David Thoreen, who helped organize the event, sensed a positive overall reaction among students.
"Davye was high energy and high impact," said Thoreen. "Nobody in the auditorium that night, no matter what their previous experiences with poetry may have been, could have left anything short of impressed by her passion for language and life."
"I am an instrument in the shape of a woman trying to translate pulsation into images for the relief of the body and the reconstruction of the mind."
"This is my life," said Davye, who later described Rich's words as the manifesto to her work. Equipped with 500 works from 95 poets of diverse cultures and ages, the New Jersey native travels the world 250 days a year to read to college campuses all over the world.
Davye's September 9th appearance at Assumption, sponsored by the English Department, Women Studies Departments, and the Student Government Association, was a poetry reading taken to an all-new level.
"I don't think of what I do as dramatizing the poem. I think of myself at the intermediate between the poem and the audience," Davye said. "It's lifting language off the page and delivering it mid-air."
Throughout the performance, Davye's voice was sometimes a whisper, sometimes a song, sometimes silent. Her variations of vocal rhythms, volume, and intensity combined with physical animation aimed to move the audience to interpretation and appreciation of the works.
"I think that Davye portrayed not only what the poet's intentions were
for the poem, but also an immense energy, which surrounded her words and actions on stage," said Senior Stephanie Montaquilla. "She made the words come alive inside us and made us feel the flow of the poetry throughout our whole bodies."
Professor David Thoreen, who helped organize the event, sensed a positive overall reaction among students.
"Davye was high energy and high impact," said Thoreen. "Nobody in the auditorium that night, no matter what their previous experiences with poetry may have been, could have left anything short of impressed by her passion for language and life."