is a an interactive poetry performance group I founded in which the audience interacts with a group of accomplished poets to determine the direction of each performance from beginning to end,
poem by poem, co-creating a reading that is never the same twice.
We don;t know where we are headed and neither do you. The we make a cento or collage poem
from the connecting lines-- a poem made by audience and poets together.
our mission...
To create invigorated, communal, wide-ranging poetry readings where the audience actively participates with a group of poets to determine the direction, subject, and tone of each reading, creating a new experience on each occasion; and to promote and encourage the art and craft of poetry as a connective and communal experience.
a little background....
The idea for an interactive poetry performance like No River Twice arose from a reading I was part of at the Virginia Festival of the Book in 2010 with Aaron Baker and Ed Skoog. The three of us had never read together, but we, and the audience, discovered with delight a few running motifs through the reading— the most glorious one being the “Pig Motif.” Aaron read a poem about preparations for a wedding in Papua, New Guinea, I followed it with my poem “Self Portrait With the Smithfield Ham We Had to Cut on The Bandsaw” and Ed followed that with a poem that included a hog in the moonlight rampaging through flowers and headstones. The experience lifted everyone in the room with the innocent pleasure of play, connection and interactivity between poets and audience.
No River Twice is an experiment in how to create that playfulness, surprise and communal participation into the realm of poetry readings. We welcome your feedback questions and interest ! -- Hayden Saunier
Next NRT performances:
We are going virtual! with a series of short No River Twice zoom readings!
www.norivertwice.org nrtpoetry@gmail.com for more info!