One of the goals of my tour is to discover and encourage rhapsodes. I do believe that some others are doing this. Benjamin Bagby performs Beowulf. But I want to find the people that are doing it more low-profile. Not poets reading their own works, not slam poets performing their works, but true rhapsodes -- performers of classic poetry. The emphasis is on the performance. Not that the words are subjugated to the performance. No, the great rhapsode, like the great actor, holds the words of the poet as sacred. But the words alone are not going to convey full meanings to an audience. It is the rhapsode's task to discover all the potential power of the words and embody them in performance. Giving a "flat" reading is no more respectful of the text than is a lover who merely assumes that his beloved knows his love.
Maybe rhapsodizing is not so prevalent. Certainly, it is under the radar. When do your ever hear of people performing a show consisting of nothing but classic poetry? Rarely. I'm sure poetry readings happen in libraries, but I'll bet that's mostly original poetry. The tradition of a solo Shakespeare show goes back at least to the early twentieth century, possibly before. John Gielgud's Ages of Man and Ian McKellen's Acting Shakespeare are possibly the most well-known examples.
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