This video was uploaded on June 2nd, 2007. It has over 1,800 views and seven likes and dislikes. Three comments, none of which are of note. Unless you count "ur gay." No, seriously.
Presentation.
The first and most notable thing is Daniel's outfit. A suit and tie isn't particularly exciting or new, but also notice the hat. I don't know if you've ever been to a poetry reading, "poetry slam," or open mic night, but generally poets have a dress that is semi-professional but also artsy. Dan goes full on business, except he adds the hat. My best explanation is that in his imagination, this is what classy, professional poets look like. Think of how you thought of poetry and poets when you were ten and assumed all poets were boring old white dudes who lived in the forties or something. This is what Daniel Songer is doing in 2007 as middle aged adult.
It's not just the hat, though. Note the setting. He deliberately chose to film in front of the fireplace in what looks like my grandmother's house. There is a bland painting and everything. If the setting and outfit aren't enough to make sure you know he's a poet, he also talks in a deliberately low voice, as if he is on some late night radio show. Hang on, though, are you still not convinced he is a poet? It isn't enough to mention that he has books on Amazon, he needs to bring them with him and show you.
As he recites his poem, this is where the comically bad sets in. I think what happened here is that Dan confused emphasis of voice with emphasis of gesture. When you read a poem, part of it is the cadence, especially in this style of poetry where everything is trying to rhyme. This poem has a rhythm--or should, anyway--and the recitation should try to capture that. He doesn't completely fail here, so I won't pick on him for that, but his physicalization of the poem is just absurd.
What the hell is he doing with his right hand? Did you notice this? He holds his right hand up in a fashion that almost looks closed, but his index finger, pinky, and thumb are out in a way that looks as if he is counting. Maybe he's counting all the things he is, making sure he isn't leaving any out. I think sometimes he is gesturing a hand out to his side or to the camera, but then he forgets what he's doing with it and lets it rest awkwardly where he left it. Like Mr. Burns keeps his arms rested limply in front of him.
The best part on this delivery, however, isn't when he readjusts his clothing or leaves his hand floating off to the side. The moment comes when recites the line, "take my hand, and great fortune is what you'll be seeing." At this point he is reaching out to the audience, but to make sure it's truly felt, he crouches down. Take note: He does not get down on one knee. He crouches. The distinction is essential. Dan wants to provide some sincere, dramatic moment by lowering himself when he offers his hand. It resembles the accepted custom of a man asking for a woman's hand in marriage. By lowering himself, the man's question becomes a humble request. It's not only romantic, it emphasizes the woman's power and choice in the situation, as if it would be a great honor if she would spend her life with this lower being. This is what Mr. Songer is trying to accomplish, though I don't think he's doing it consciously. And yet it's very clear this is what's happening here. He's offering his hand, but he's too damn old and out of shape to get on one knee and then get back up in a few seconds. It's not that this is somehow different than the marriage request metaphor, that somehow crouching sends a different message that's equally as deliberate and useful here. It's that the crouching is just the closest he can get to getting down on one knee. And if all this isn't enough, he remains crouched for over ten seconds as he continues to deliver additional lines.
Content.
The problem with Daniel Songer portraying himself as 10-year-old-imagined poet is that his delivery, right from the beginning, undercuts his authority. He might toss the books aside or adjust the hell out of his pants and then his tie, but the dead giveaway really is the first few words after his little introduction.
Given a more artful sentence structure, it might not sound so redundant. But he doesn't soften the blow with any qualifying clauses. A good way to handle this smoothly would be, "I'd like to do a few poems out of my book, 'I'm a Statue.' This is from my collection of poems, called 'I'm a Statue,' after this poem." So it might still be as awkward as crab walking at fifty, but at least it shows a level of self-awareness. Instead, he just repeats the phrase "I'm a Statue" as if you've never heard it before. Yeah, you mean, the title of the book you just mentioned in the last sentence?I'd like to do a few poems for you...out of my book, "I'm a Statue." The first one's titled, "I'm a Statue."
A good poem communicates through powerful and/or parallel imagery. For example, imagine a poem with three stanzas all creating three different images: a dusty, crooked street sign; an empty house with faded paint, and dried up pen hidden under a box. What do all these images have in common? What conclusions could we draw based on these images being described in the poem? They're all lonely images, there is an implication of neglect or having been forgotten entirely. And through this analysis we can discover a deeper meaning or message within this poem.
Let's examine Dan's images, shall we? Let's just list here, briefly, everything that he is: picture, reflection, window, door, statue, being, reality, and dream. Every stanza begins with two images. Now, maybe I can see deliberately conflicting images, like window and door, statue and being, reality and dream. The problem is that picture and reflection don't fit this mold. They're not really opposites. Now what would Dan the Poet Man be trying to accomplish by describing himself as a contradiction? Is this supposed to be like that Alanis Morrisette song where he's everything, including a bitch, mother, lover, and other boring nouns? There is no creative connection that I can see, at least not intentional. Window and door and statue and being aren't really opposities. I am really just trying too hard.
Is there anything else to really say about the content? I do see a pattern, don't you? My assumption is that each stanza is four lines, and that the first line is always, "I'm a something, I'm a something." The following line is then, "whatever it is that rhymes with something." I want to look at the second half of two stanzas.
The moon is rising. The sun is falling.So the third line of the first stanza is indicating night. But the following stanza has to do with him looking for love, hoping it will come. I am going to dig in deeper here as a precursor to the next section, because I, again, don't see this as intentional. Two cliché images: moon and sun, rising and falling. Other than days going by and night being on the horizon, I'm not sure what else he's going for other than setting up the rhyme for "calling." Though unintentional, there is something very depressing about looking for love as night is on the rise. Searching for something in the dark is not a very promising endeavor. The fact that he's simply hoping that love "will come calling" is also not too exciting, because he's not actively finding it. I can't help but think this guy is really lonely. Allow me to quickly glance at the final half-stanza before I move on.
I look for love and hope that it will come calling.
Here I stand with open armsI don't have many words for this. Sad. Dan is waiting, eternally, for love to come calling, for someone to "pursue" him "and make the quest." Maybe this part was done intentionally, but mostly, I think this is just a part of something else.
For all eternity.
What Exactly is Going On?
This whole poem is sad and lonely, even though all it talks about is love. The implication, at every moment, is that Daniel Songer is looking or pleading a case for love, usually in a fashion that involves waiting or getting someone else to come to him. Self-publishing books and uploading himself reciting these poems on YouTube only reinforces this hope that if he just puts himself out there that some special person will come find him. I don't think it's intentional,but I do think it's awfully revealing that the first poem he uploads is called "I'm a Statue." Hell, he named the entire collection of poems after this title. Given that he is a shit ton of things, according to this poem, why isn't it called "I'm a Reality"? I'll tell you why: because that's not the image he most relates to. He relates to the statue because he's cold and lonely as stone, and is hoping someone will walk by, see its beauty and find love. Take a look at just a few of the lines in this poem more closely.
Here I stand full of affection.Here I stand. Notice he's not moving in the direction of love. He is stagnant. The following three cherry-picked lines all involve "you" whether implicit or explicit. All you have to do is look into his heart. If you do that, love will be your addiction. It's about you giving him a chance. He's already willing, he's where he needs to be, that's why he's standing. You just have to make the little leap. Just take his hand, just make the quest, and your life will be the best. Finally, as if this isn't desperate enough, the final line is "hope and pray" for love. He even gesticulates prayer. Not to make too big a dig at the religious notion of prayer, but it is often mistaken for action. Someone can pray long and hard for the sick and homeless, but if they still don't donate money to causes or help a homeless man themselves, they're not a part of the solution. Dan wants love between you and me so badly he is hoping and praying, but he's still just standing as still as a statue.
If you look into my heart, love will be your addiction.
Take my hand, and great fortune is what you'll be seeing.
Persue me, and make the quest.
I hope and pray for love between you and me.
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