EMU Student Alyssa Eckles offers her reaction to the Yedda Morrison BathHouse reading:
After having read Girl Scout Nation, it was quite refreshing to hear Morrison read her text. When I personally read it, most of the language of the book seemed a bit self-righteous, but Morrison read with a very soft, cool voice. It allowed the text to be reexamined in a different light and offered the author’s interpretation.
While Morrison read her pieces with a very soothing tone, it emphasized the harshness of the words. Phrases like “triple homicide” were sung like a children’s song and descriptions of death or waste were clear despite the calm tone.
The use of props did seem a bit confusing. Morrison began her reading by lighting a small lantern and placing it downstage from her podium. She did not acknowledge the lantern for the rest of the performance, however. Later, she donned a black mesh hat or veil, but it didn’t seem to go with the piece she was reader. Later speculation in class suggested it was a mourning veil or a beekeeping hat, though it didn’t really look like either.
Morrison used repetition in some piece which really worked well. In one piece, “no” is repeated several times, adding a sense of urgency and and an excellent rhythm for reading. It sped the piece up and made for an entertaining poem.
In Girl Scout Nation, however, the concept of the “girl” doesn’t seemed very full. Does Morrison mean the actual human girl, with its graphic descriptions of organs and body parts? Or is the girl more abstract, a discussion on a subject often overlooked by the world or society?
In general, Morrison’s reading was quite interesting, if peculiar, and shed a new light on her book Girl Scout Nation.