The voice of Alice Notley echoed through the grandiose room of the St Mark’s Cathedral. All windows arched and stain glass paned. Behind her are more arches lapping over on another holding her in, and with wide eyes the audience hangs on to every line while the words flowed from Notley as she were an instrument. The reading of Certain Magical Acts was quite an experience to behold, and is very special being that this book is not yet available to the public. She has such intensity in her words that she brings her poetry to life. Notley sets the mood, the intonation with her immense array of diverse poems that range in all directions of the spectrum. She is humorous as she speaks of her wish to own peacocks and that “they’ll shit all over the grass” (A Star Blown in the Wind), but she also shares the personal depths of her life, and political stances. Her mouth speaks magic and her pen writes the spells; a truly magical act indeed.
Lasting words:
“If I bleed enough rubies”
“I’m still barefoot and so are my dead”
“I still accept you like weather”
“I don’t want to talk, but I have to say that”
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