New York Observer dumps on readings

[Mira]

I'm going to go in a slightly tangential direction for a moment...

All of that said, I do think there's an art form which needs more attention - and that is elocution. In the past, being able to read or speak a piece out loud in a moving and poweful way was considered a great gift. With movies, T.V., etc., that art form is in danger of being dismissed as not important. In addition, people aren't remembering that elocution is a skill that needs training.

I have to disagree with you. Theatre performance is an extremely popular college major right now. If that doesn't focus on elocution training, I don't know what does.

Well, just to clarify. I didn't mean that people weren't trained to act. I meant that the art form of elocution is not popular now. I'm talking about the type of art form where people stand up and read a poem, a story, etc. to an audience. This is not the same as a play or theatre. Just standing up and reading a story. It used to be very popular, but now you only find it in certain arty cafes and stuff like that.

But I agree that elocution is a form of acting, and not just about speaking well.