Looking at the audience while doing a poetry reading, I saw some of the people have closed their eyes. Were they listening or were they sleeping? It was hard to tell.
I like to make eye-contact when I read. It’s like having a dialogue, you know the audience is listening. But when their eyes are closed I am uncertain. Should I project my voice to wake them up, or should I speak gently so as not to disturb them?
Teaching a piano lesson after a tiring exercise class, I listened to my student’s playing with my eyes closed. When the music stopped, I was so fatigued that my eyes would not open. “It’s nice,” I managed to mumble something to cover my track, but my mind was blank.
“Thank you. That’s it.” I said after my reading. People clapped. Now their eyes were all opened.
