Woke up this morning to an Internet station playing May Sarton, which reminded me of the best poetry reading I ever saw…Clark University, 1981 or so, with Gwendolyn Brooks, May Sarton, and Tillie Olson.

I had to think hard about that “best ever” designation, because I’ve seen some great ones…but I think it still stands out, even over all the great performance poets I’ve seen, even over folks like Robert Bly (sneer as you like, he’s frequently mesmerizing) and Etheridge Knight (who was intimidating as hell to a suburban 14 year old as I was at the time, but still incredibly influential).

What was the best poetry performance you ever saw?