Introduction to Recitation
taught by Gary Green
Thank you for enrolling in the Introduction to Recitation course. I hope you will enjoy it.
To help you get a bit of a head start on the workshop, I have prepared a description of the workshop project, a few video examples of some of the province’s more well-known rhymers/recitationists, and a list of some online and print resources. If possible, please take a look at these before camp.
Should you wish to discuss anything about the information presented here or the course in general, please contact me at my email jrpcnl@yahoo.com and we can set up a time to chat via phone, Zoom or FaceTime.
The Basics
The principal objective for the course is to write a narrative recitation which can be a reworking of a story you already know (e.g., a folktale, legend, personal story), a new-to-you tale, true or not, from a source such as a book (see the online story links in my Introduction to Storytelling workshop welcome), or a new original piece of either fact or fiction.
The recitation need not be long. It simply needs to tell a story in verse. Like stories told in prose, recitations that are too long can be tiring and the audience will lose interest. Better to leave the audience wanting more. For reference, ***our concert limit is five minutes per performance***.
As an example of making quick work of it, at the link below Dave Penny sings a song, plays a tune on his accordion and does a recitation all in about seven minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwTRLstKfhw
Videos
To get a flavour of the NL style of recitation, you can see samples of some of the better-known rhymers/recitationists at the links below.
“You Must Believe in Fairies” (Hubert Furey) https://youtu.be/_kkV55QYbjc
“Hot Sauce” (Harry Ingram) https://youtu.be/0hUF3YQq3-o
Ken Parsons - Cork Yarnspinners Storytelling Session June 2020 https://youtu.be/G_6azwR1jKs
“Johnny Chrome” (Dave Penny) https://youtu.be/hAOO-mGQb3s
"The Smokeroom on the Kyle", told on the "Kyle" (Ted Russell, told by Kelly Russell) https://youtu.be/kYaSujHkECw
“Ralph, Flying Hound” (Dave Paddon) https://youtu.be/uZUuKMbDhSM
Online texts
M. A. Devine "Who Stopped the Gun?" http://ngb.chebucto.org/Bonavista/Songs/sundaygun.shtml
E.J. Pratt "The Titanic" https://canpoetry.library.utoronto.ca/pratt/poem6.htm (there are six poems on this site)
Books
Tom Dawe and C. Anne MacLeod, "Moocher in the Lun" Pennywell Books, St. John's, NL. 2008. https://flankerpress.com/product/moocher-in-the-lun
Gerald S. Doyle, ed. "Old-time Songs and Poetry of Newfoundland " Gerald S. Doyle Ltd. St. John's, NL.
First Edition, 1927. https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/cns/id/77888
Second Edition, 1940. https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/cns/id/69728
Hubert Furey, " As the Old Folks Would Say". Flanker Press, St. John's, NL, 2017. Purchase online: https://www.flankerpress.com/product/as-the-old-folks-would-say
John O. Heard, "The Devil's Torment" Them Days Inc. Happy Valley - Goose Bay, NL. 1989. https://www.themdays.com/?product=the-devils-torment
Harry Ingram, “Don’t be Talkin’”. Flanker Press, St. John’s, NL, 2021. Purchase online: https://www.flankerpress.com/product/dont-be-talkin
Ray Johnson, “… and I owe it all to Bridget and John” DRC Publishing, St. John’s, NL. 2010 https://drcpublishingnl.com/shop/ray-johnson/and-i-owe-it-all-to-bridget-and-john/
Lara Maynard, "Solomon Gosse's Birthday" Self published. 1998. Available from Torbay Historical Society, https://torbay.ca/visitor/torbay-history-house-museum/. NL Public Libraries link for print copy: http://hip.nlpl.ca/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=link%3D3100006~!268202~!3100001~!3100002
Robin McGrath, "Nursery Rhymes of Newfoundland and Labrador" https://www.worldcat.org/title/nursery-rhymes-of-newfoundland-labrador/oclc/181843324
Robin McGrath, "All in Together" https://boulderbooks.ca/product/all-in-together-rhymes-ditties-and-jingles-of-newfoundland-and-labrador/
Dave Paddon, "Half the Lies You Tell are Not True". Running the Goat Press, Tors Cove, NL. Purchase online: https://runningthegoat.com/half-the-lies-you-tell-are-not-true/
Al Pittman, "Down by Jim Long's Stage: Rhymes for Children and Young Fish". Breakwater Books, St. John's, NL, 1976. Out of print. NL Public Libraries link for print copy: http://hip.nlpl.ca/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=link=3100006~!180797~!3100001~!3100002
Poets from elsewhere…
…who have had an influence on local rhymers:
Edward Lear, "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat" https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43188/the-owl-and-the-pussy-cat
Alfred Noyes, "The Highwayman" https://poets.org/poem/highwayman
Edgar Allen Poe, "The Raven" https://poets.org/poem/raven
Robert Service, "The Cremation of Sam McGee" https://poets.org/poem/cremation-sam-mcgee
Robert Service, "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45082/the-shooting-of-dan-mcgrew
Robert Southey, "The Inchcape Rock" https://allpoetry.com/Inchcape-Rock
Web resources
Rhyming Dictionary: Rhyme Zone https://www.rhymezone.com
Dictionary of Newfoundland English https://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/a-z-index.php