Drumming and Poetry

From Menletter August 2002

By Tim Baehr

One very worthwhile activity for men in greater Boston (and a bit beyond) has been a drumming and poetry circle, held about every six weeks. I was talking about this to a friend, who said "I'm not much into drumming." Case closed, or so I thought.

But on second thought, I began to wonder if there were some misconceptions. So let me make some things a bit clearer, just in case.

First, there's nothing fancy or intricate about the drumming. Some guys have taken lessons and are pretty good (or even excellent) at laying down rhythms and embellishing them. But anyone can play. Nobody's keeping track of who's keeping the beat or whether an individual's drumming sounds "pretty." The overall effect is a weaving of rhythms, usually in time with our heartbeats, that brings us into a place of fellowship and out of the ordinary world.

Second, the drumming isn't particularly noisy. I don't think most men would find it excessively loud. For one thing, we're all listening to each other; playing too loud would drown out the overall sound.

Third (and this applies to both drumming and poetry), we practice "radical choice." This means that drumming and poetry participation is strictly optional. You can sit and listen, meditate, wander outdoors, read a book. That's the "choice" part. The "radical" part is that no one will ever think badly of you or hassle you to join in. Your mere presence in a group of men is enough for everyone.

Fourth, the poetry we share may be stuff we've written or stuff from published sources. This is not a poetry contest, and there are no prizes for literary quality or dramatic reading ability! When something comes from the heart, no matter how it's worded and no matter how it's delivered, you'll see men nodding or even hear them grunting in recognition and appreciation. If you choose to share a poem, whatever its source may be, you may be speaking for some or even all of the men in the room - and beyond.

Our drumming and poetry circles could be called "Hang out with the men" circles. Drumming and poetry are just something we do when we're hanging out.

We usually start out by purifying the space with sage incense and/or a bell. We go around the circle to give men a chance to invite other men, usually ancestors, to join the group. We drum. We read. We drum. We read. A poem will sometimes remind a man of another poem, and he'll go leafing through his notebook to find it. We often end by saying good-bye to the spirits we have invited to join us and then breaking the circle. Sometimes we have a pot-luck dinner afterwards.>