What is it about speaking the written word aloud that makes it so alluring?
Why read literature aloud? People used to read aloud to each other. Before TV or even radio, back when books were scarce and precious, entire families read aloud to each other. More and more, reading has become a solitary pastime, done in private and in silence, if at all. When I was a child, my mom read to my sisters and me every night. As I learned to read, I’d read to my younger sisters. I’ve always enjoyed reading aloud – and being read to. I was once a voracious reader, but fell away from it. Now, I read mostly email, murder mysteries and the occasional heaving-bosom novella. I never developed a love of poetry, and certainly not much understanding of it. I used to think that poetry had to rhyme and had to be really oblique, confusing, deep and super-intellectual. None of those are my strong points. I do, however, love the human voice. I love the many tones and accents and all the things you can do with your voice. The best roles are the ones where the author’s words let you exerci
