ANST - The Bard's Road

[Spatsman at aol.com]

Unto the good Gentles of Ansteorra,
An interesting subject came up recently which has given my forehead a
concerned furrow. 
While attending a northern event, a few local bards, myself included, found
ourselves in a conversation concerning bardic competitions. Now, I'm not going
to waste your time talking shop, but the jist of this discussion was the
amount of competition in this Kingdom. It seems that most every event has a
bardic competition, and not just for the earning of a representitive title.
These seem to spring from honest, good intentions, ie; " Well, we need to give
the bards something to do".
That's a generous attitude, and for it I am grateful.
I simply wish to suggest that competitions are not the only bardic activity.
If the time has come to choose your newest Titled bard, so be it. If, however,
no title is in question, why not devise some other gathering, of a less
competitive nature.
Please understand, when you don armor, you prepare to face an opponent, but
when a bard breathes in his/her first words, they prepare to face down reality
itself.
We strive to create those magic moments, and it's hard,...very hard.
If a winner is not required, why not have themed performances?
A request night?
Random adlib, suggestions from the audience?
Or, encourage firewalking in your area? This particular tradition is not being
followed as it once was in Ansteorra. Some still welcome bards, young and old,
with welcome arms, but some make bards to feel most unwelcome, and this is
particularly hard on the new performer, whose confidence is shaky to begin
with.
You could welcome bards to perform when drummers and 
dancers need refreshment.
Landed nobility could call visiting bards to their tables.
Warriors could make a pre-battle boast worthwhile to the local bard.
I will leave it at that, and I look forward to the opinions of the people,
bards and audiences alike. Perhaps I have only scratched the surface. Mayhap
there are more suggestions out there.
I hope so. 
~HL Fionnagan
           "Be useless to the spirit of passivity, the hands and mouth rot
soon enough"
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