The McCormack Family Theater transformed into a Buddhist temple Wednesday afternoon. Sreypov Phoeun, who recites traditional Cambodian poetry known as Khmer poetry or "smot," was invited to perform by Visiting Fellow in the Watson Institute for International Relations Tararith Kho.
Smot is an almost vanished art form, said Visiting Professor of Literary Arts Robert Coover, who introduced the performance. Kho is working to revive this dying art, but though he writes Khmer poetry, he does not recite it, he told The Herald. That's where Sreypov Phoeun comes in. She can recite the poetry, but does not write it.
Smot is usually performed at funerals and other Buddhist ceremonies, Phoeun explained before reciting her first poem. But this was no average poetry reading. Phoeun sang the poems, which were sorrowful tales of family, faith, beauty and hunger.
Her somber tone was relevant in light of the recent death of poet and former literary arts professor Michael Gizzi, whom Coover mentioned respectfully in his introduction.
This performance was an unusual opportunity, Coover told the audience, because the literary arts program would not have had the funding to host Phoeun if she were not already in the country on a one-month tour.
Phoeun told The Herald she was invited by several Cambodian Buddhist temples to perform during the recent religious festival of Pchum Ben, when Cambodians pay respect to their ancestors. She said she visited Stanford University and Las Vegas before coming to Brown.
The first poem was in English, but still written in the style of traditional Cambodian poetry. It was difficult to understand what Phoeun was saying, but this proved unimportant, as the meaning was conveyed through the way she sung. Her voice was entrancing and her range remarkable. Her voice gradually slipped lower and lower and then abruptly climbed to a high note, her mouth only slightly open, widening only to breathe. Phoeun sat perfectly still, her back straight, hands neatly clasped in her lap, eyes softly closed.
While singing, she appeared extremely calm, but became flustered when the audience called for an encore. She reluctantly consented, admitting, "I feel a little bit nervous." Before beginning her last piece, she said that though audience members could not understand her language, they could understand what the songs were about just by listening.
Phoeun said there are over 60 ways to sing each smot poem. She could not explain how she learned to translate poems into song or how she chooses which style to sing them in, but said she was taught by masters in her village in Kampong Speu Province.
She concluded her performance by urging audience members to visit Cambodia if they were interested in learning more.
