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Wess “Mongo” Jolley Poet, and Performance Poetry Promoter |
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The Performance Poetry Preservation Project: |
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If you are interested, drop me a line at mongo.bearwolf@gmail.com. P4 CONCEPT AND GOALS
Overview. The advent of digital technology has made it easier than ever to capture the otherwise ephemeral nature of live poetry in performance. Hundreds of reading series, slams, and open mics across the country are either now recording their events, or have the technology within their easy grasp to do so. Emerging poets now take for granted the ability to digitally record their work and post it on their web sites, my Space pages, YouTube accounts, or Facebook profiles. In short, we are at the leading edge of grass roots wave of poetry recording, that will dwarf all of our past efforts. Unfortunately, very few of those now capturing poetry in performance understand the extremely ephemeral nature of the digital recordings that they make. Unlike analog media such as phonograph disk or audio tape, without proactive care, digital recordings will become unreadable within only a few years. Changes in operating systems, file formats, storage media, and application versions will inevitably render these digital recordings inaccessible; or at least not accessible without great expense. Simply put, that stack of CDs on the shelf will one day be as useless as a drawer full of computer punch cards, or even a box of 5 ¼ inch floppy disks. As illustration: In February 1956, Allen Ginsberg performed "Howl" at Reed College in Oregon. This performance was recorded on audio tape, and due to some cataloging errors, literally lost and forgotten for over fifty years. It was discovered in 2007, and is now known to be the earliest recording of Howl that exists. And even though it sat on a shelf for half a century, it can still be listened to with existing equipment. In this case, “benign neglect” served the preservation of this recording well. By contrast, imagine the digital recordings being made at a poetry venue today. These recordings may be burned to CDs in a wide variety of audio formats, or they may be spooled out to digital tape. Or, as is the case with the one poetry club in New York City, as external hard disks fill up, they are simply unplugged and placed on a shelf. Without proper storage and care, these recordings will simply be gone in as little as five to ten years. The media will deteriorate, formats will change, or they will simply be discarded due to a lack of a repository to preserve them. Simply put, a whole generation of history and performance that could be preserved is in danger of being lost. Key Elements of the Performance Poetry Preservation Project. The goal of the P4 project would be : To both promote the capture of digital audio and video recordings of poetry in performance, and to ensure that those captured recordings remain both preserved and accessible for future generations. To break down that goal, specifically: 1) Ensure that those captured recordings remain both preserved and accessible for future generations. The core of this project will be the establishment of an institutionally supported digital repository for audio and video recordings of contemporary poetry. The repository will be focused on recordings made at small and medium sized venues who have reading series, open mics, and slam poetry events, as well as offering it as a repository for emerging poets who are producing audio and video recordings of their work. Unlike most digital preservation efforts, which are focused on the digitizing of historical recordings, this project would go directly to the source, obtaining and preserving recordings made by emerging poets and venues today. Key to the success of such an effort, and to the sustainability of the project, the repository must be hosted under the auspices of an established and reputable organization. The selected host institution could be an academic library, or a private organization such as the Poets House in New York City. This organization will provide the infrastructure necessary to serve as a digital home where recordings could be ingested and cataloged to agreed upon standards, and then preserved as technology evolves. It will be the responsibility of the hosting organization to maintain the digital repository, and to ensure that audio and video files are migrated forward as technology and standards change. In addition, the repository will establish standards for recordings (such as bit rates and file formats) to which ingested recordings can conform, as well as the proper cataloging and metadata creation required to ensure they remain accessible. However, building the repository will only be valuable if there is content that flows into it. Which brings us to the equally important second arm of the project. 2) Promote the capture of digital audio and video recordings of poetry in performance. This goal would have several components: a) Outreach. The marketing of the repository to those venues, organizations, and individuals that host readings and open mics will be critical. A educational effort in regard to the necessity for preserving what they are doing will be a large component of the project. b) "Micro-grants." Perhaps the easiest and most cost effective way to support the capture of poetry in performance is the provision of inexpensive digital MP3 recorders. These are now less than $200, and they could be provided to selected venues that agree to submit recordings to the repository. Other small grants could be made to key venues as resources allow, in order to ensure that they are able to capture their performances. c) Technical Assistance. Digital technology can be daunting to those who are not experienced at making recordings. Providing technical assistance along the way will both help ensure recordings are made, and that they are made to standards developed by the project. e) Submission Tools. Simple web-based tools for submitting and uploading recordings and associated metadata to the repository must be developed. Once the recordings are in the proper format, getting them into the repository, along with descriptive information, should be made as streamlined as possible. For instance authorized individuals from participating venues could access a web site with a form that can be filled out, a digital recording selected from their hard disk, and the file uploaded to the repository with a single click. It then becomes the role of the repository to review and properly catalog the incoming submissions. Questions Still to Be Answered. Of course, this vision begs many questions, and many decisions will have to be made as a formal proposal is developed. For instance, how is copyright handled? What kind of distribution can be done of recordings in this repository? What, if any, work should be excluded from the repository? What technical standards should be developed? What core metadata should be collected for the cataloging process? How will artist releases be handled? Etc. Clearly, these questions will have to be resolved as the vision is developed and refined. Next Steps. In order to move this project forward, there are two major hurdles that must be addressed. First; an institution must be found that will become the primary sponsor and serve as a host for the repository. As mentioned above, this could either be a private non-profit, such as the Poets House, or an University/College Library with an interest in building collections in the areas of poetry, audio, video, performance, or arts history. Second; securing funding, through grants or sponsorships. This funding would be used for technical infrastructure such as servers and network access, as well as securing the necessary expertise in areas such as technology, marketing, cataloging, and administration. Funding Opportunities. This is a project that could easily be of interest to funders who make grants in the humanities. However, it is also a cross-disciplinary project, touching on poetry, performance, history, sociology, and new technology. This broadens the potential appeal to funders significantly. Such a project could also serve as a model for other projects that document other performing arts, such as dance, music, etc. Early Collaborators. This project is still in its formative stages, and discussions are ongoing with several individuals, venues, and groups that are interested in participating. For more information, contact the project sponsor: Wess “Mongo” Jolley, CRM. Initial work on this project has been done by Wess Jolley, CRM, an information management professional with over 25 years experience in the field. Wess is currently the Records Manager at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and he is the former interim manager of the Special Collections Library at the College. In these two roles, he has had a keen interest and extensive experience in both historical preservation issues, as well as information technology, data system design, and digital record keeping. In addition, he is a poet and poetry promoter, who has extensive experience in new media. He is the host of the IndieFeed Performance Poetry Podcast, which has produced over 500 shows and boasts over two million downloads. He is well connected in the performance poetry world, having worked with venue hosts across the country, as well as having networking connections with 200 of the top poets and luminaries in the performance poetry world. For more information mongo.bearwolf@gmail.com |
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Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Licenses.