Interpretive Reading

"Elocution in our schools should rank in consideration with the more important branches of geography, grammar, and arithmetic." This is a quote I got from a used book I bought "Favorite Speaker Recitations and Select Readings for Public and Private Entertainment..." I can’t find a year when this was published so if anyone out there knows, please let me know. Clearly this was written before the sound bites on the evening news. There was a slip of paper in the book "June 20, 1917. Received of Caroline Winter $3.25. Flora Hahn."

The beginning of the book addresses the topic of elocution - position of your hands, proper stances, and breathing. In addition to an index, the readings are grouped for different styles or classes of public speaking: The Pathetic or Subdued Style, The Tranquil Style, The Serious Style, The Oratorical Style, and The Humorous Style. A number of these readings are "dated" and may seem strange for the modern listener, but still I found it fascinating.

One of the most challenging advanced Toastmaster’s speech manuals is "Interpretive Reading." The projects are similar to The Favorite Speaker Recitations. The projects are Read a Story, Interpreting Poetry, The Monodrama, The Play, and The Oratorical Speech. The poetry project was my favorite because I admire readers and poets who can bring a poem to life like Michael York and Billy Collins; I have a long way to go. I read Dylan Thomas "A Child’s Christmas in Wales" for the Read a Story project.

All of these projects help develop pitch, timing, and rate. Before radio, TV, computer, and text messaging, this was entertainment: the written and spoken word.