Mr. Paul Muldoon

It's pretty amazing that we can have someone as famous as Paul Muldoon come to Fairfield University for a poetry reading. What is also amazing is that he can be so famous, yet I had no idea who he was. I have read poetry before, but it's not one of the top things on my 'to-do list' in my free time. When I read poetry it is because it is assigned.

Professor Kelley seemed really excited about this famous poet and Professor at Princeton University coming to our school for a poetry reading. She assigned us a packet of his poems to read so we could discuss them in class prior to the reading. When I attempted to read the packet, the poems made no sense. My mind was blown, I had no idea what Muldoon was trying to say. His poems just weren't registering in my brain, they required knowledge that I did not have.

After the class discussion I really did not want to go to the poetry reading. I assumed I would have to sit in a hot, crammed room filled with poetry fanatics that were there on their own free will. I thought that everyone would be engaged in Muldoon's reading, while I would just sit there with my arms crossed. I assumed that Muldoon would be a stuck-up poet that was to smart for his own good. Luckily, I was wrong.

I was surprised that I actually got a seat when I arrived at the poetry reading. A lot of events on campus are not prepared for the mass numbers of people that attend them. I sat towards the side in the back, and had a view of Muldoon as he walked up and down the aisles. Muldoon surprised me, he was like a normal person, not some crazy poet. He greeted the audience by not only thanking us for coming, but apologizing to those students who were forced to go to his reading. I appreciated this because I was of those students. He had an attitude that made it comfortable to be around. He did not want credit for being famous or to be treated better than everyone else.

Mr. Muldoon gave background information to each poem before reading them. I wish he would have done that when I was trying to decipher what he was trying to say. This information was key to understanding his poems. I got excited when he said he was going to read Cuba, because I actually remembered what that one was about. He joked at the end of the poem saying that he must have gotten tired for ending it like that.

I felt like overall, the audience was engaged in Muldoon's readings (even the students). He cracked jokes and was responsive to the audience. In some cases, student had to leave for class (or because they decided they didn't want to be there). Every time someone got up and left, he stopped what he was saying and said something like, goodbye thank you for coming, see you soon. Though it was a bit sarcastic, but it was nice that he acknowledged everyone for coming to his reading

I am glad I got the experience to attend a poetry reading, because had it not been assigned, I definitely would not have gone.