There is something about poetry readings I've always found slightly off-putting. It's not the poets or the poems; I can usually be counted on to be quite civil to most of them. No, what usually gets to me is the audiences.

Oh, I'm sure most people at a reading have come to listen to the poetry and I have no problem with that. No it's the ones who have come for the "event" that usually get up my nose. The two types I find the most aggravating are the ones who feel that everyone has really come to see them, so they have to be part of the show, and the ones who act like they're doing everyone a huge favour by showing up for the reading.

The former sit up close to wherever the poets are set up and have to make noises of some sort before, during or after the poem and sometimes if you're really unlucky all three. There's the murmur of agreement approving of the choice of poem or the subject matter, which is a close cousin to the exclamation of disbelief, and finally the strident laugh at something only they find funny.

The latter has either accompanied the first type or is sitting in close enough proximity that they can work in counter point to each other. When the first is silent, the second can make small harrumphs of disquiet to show how much of a waste of their time this truly is. They complain about the quality of the coffee being served, and whisper to whoever is unfortunate enough to be sitting beside them all about the really wonderful reading they went to the last time they were in San Francisco.

So, I don't get to hear or see much poetry being read, which is a shame. Good poetry can really be brought to life by being read by the person who wrote it. When you hear the writer's inflection, or see the expression on his or her face, and listen to the tone of their voice, so much is revealed that never makes it onto the page.

Which is why I sent inquiries about a review copy to Perceval Press about a new release they are currently offering. 3 Fools 4 April is a CD/DVD set of a poetry reading given by Scott Wannberg, Hank Mortensen, and Viggo Mortensen in support of the Beyond Baroque Foundation in Venice California. I would be able to see and hear three poets performing their work and not have to deal with the usual drawbacks.

Of the three, the only one who's poetry I was familiar with is Viggo Mortensen's. I reviewed an earlier work of his quite a number of years ago, Coincidence Of Memory, and was impressed by both his poetry and his photography. He's also a fair hand at acting, so I was interested to see what he'd do with his poetry.