Yesterday, in the middle of Britain’s great hurricane, we were creating some drama of our own in a little classroom in Christ Church University, Canterbury.  The lovely and generous poet/academic/soon-to-be-bluechrome-new-author Carolyn Oulton invited me and the actress, Rosalind Cressy, to perform Dreams of May.  This is the second in a short series of performances we’re doing (watch this space for info on the next one at the Poetry Cafe, London on 3 April) and, I’m happy to say, my reaction was much more measured than the last time I wrote about such a performance.  Rosalind was her usual fabulous, professional self.  It was amazing to see her arrive after a 2-hour drive in the wind and rain (and this was at 9.30 in the morning!) looking more like a lobsterman in her rain gear and wellies than a classically-trained actress, and then have her shake the deluge off her shoulders, take a deep breath, and go completely into character.  Quite the performance.  But for me, the most fun of all was this tag-team we fell into during the subsequent question/answer period.  I’ve certainly gotten used to explaining my process to students, waxing all emotional about the importance of poetry in my work and my life.  But I’ve never before had the opportunity to sit there and listen to someone do a “lit crit” session on my own work.  Of course, I know that the writer brings all sorts of unconscious  impulses and meanings to his/her work.  That’s the fun of it – to have something pop out of nowhere and land on the previously blank paper in front of you.  And of course, I understand and take great pleasure in discovering readers’ personal interpretations.  But this was something different.  Structure, form, rhyme scheme, word choices, imagery — all deeply considered and discussed by somebody OTHER THAN ME.  Obviously, I love talking about myself  (admit it, why else do we write our blogs?).  But to listen to someone else talk about my work in that way was a real gift.  Worth making the pilgrimage to Canterbury! So, thank you Carolyn, thank you Rosalind, and thank you to all of you out there who have read or seen my work and have managed to natter on about it for a minute or two.