Saturday, June 8, 2013

The Questionnaire

I used to watch as graduate fellows I "supervised" in my college's writing across the curriculum program prepared surveys to assess our progress. The fellows with social science backgrounds could write these surveys in their sleep, it seemed. I gladly let them take the lead, and peeked over their shoulders.

Now I find myself without graduate students to design or even help me design surveys, and so I spent a good part of my week after shoulder surgery trying to put together an instrument I could, without shame, give poets who perform their work and agree to take part in the research for Virtue. The project is gaining a momentum that I probably couldn't stop if I wanted to. Having finally sent off all necessary documents to my college's IRB, and having finally planned the first research trip to San Francisco, I am now approaching the time when I can begin interviewing, filming and asking people to complete this survey on which I've labored.

The printed survey will travel with me to research destinations, and will go out in electronic form through email or Survey Monkey. But is it too long? Is it too determinate? Is it too open-ended? Is it too much to ask? Maybe as a way of obfuscating the answers, I've refused to number it. Or maybe that's just the kind of evasive maneuver that goes along with not understanding exactly what the research will tell me, and where this project and its attendant paper airplanes will land. 

So here you go, small world, a sneak peak at the quarry from which I will mine my foundation of :




Virtue at the Coffee House: Poetry and Performance Across America
Dr. George Guida


Participant Survey


The following survey should take 15-20 minutes to complete, and will provide valuable data for a study of poetry in performance across America. Any publications or productions resulting from this research will attribute the answers you provide only if you grant consent (See the accompanying consent form).


Name______________________________________

Date_______________

Gender:  male [  ] female [  ]     transgendered [   ]


Age Group:  18-25 [  ] 26-33  [  ] 34-40 [   ] 41-48  [  ] 49-55 [  ]

55-62 [  ] 63-70 [  ] 71-79 [  ] 80+ [  ]

Exact Age (in years) [Optional]: _____________


In what city and state were you raised?_________________________________________


In what city and state do you currently reside?___________________________________


How long have you lived in your current city and state? (Please check one.)

0-3 years [  ]   3-7 years [  ] 8-12 years [  ]    13-19 years [  ]     20 + years  [  ]

Lifelong Resident [  ]


Do you write creatively?

Yes  [  ] No  [  ]



What do you write? (You may indicate more than one genre.)

poetry [  ] fiction [  ] drama [  ] non-fiction [  ]

other [  ] (Please specify)_________________________________




How often do you write creative work?

every day [  ]   several times per week [  ] once per week [  ]   several times per month [   ]

less often than monthly [  ] rarely [  ]


How long have you been writing creative work?

less than 1 year [  ] 1-3 years [  ] 3-7 years [  ]  8-12 years [  ]  13-19 years [  ]

20+ years [  ] since childhood [  ]


At what age did you begin writing? _____________


Do you read or perform your work in public?

Yes [  ] No [  ]


On the average, how often do you read or perform your work in public?

several times per week [  ] once per week [  ] several times per month  [  ]

once per month [  ]   less often than once per month [  ] rarely [  ]


Where have you read or performed your work?

poetry club [  ]     other clubs (music, comedy, dinner) [  ]   theater [  ]

coffee house [  ] libraries [  ] college or university [  ] school [  ]

community center [  ] poetry festival [  ]

other venue [  ] (please specify)_________________________________


At which type of venue have you read or performed your work most often?
(Please choose from the options in the previous questions)



Do you attend readings and performances of creative writing in which you are not taking part?

Yes [  ] No [  ]


How often do you attend readings and performances in which you are not taking part?

several times per week [  ] once per week [  ] several times per month  [  ]

once per month [  ]   less often than once per month [  ] rarely [  ]


Where do you most often attend poetry events in which you are not taking part?

poetry club [  ]     other clubs (music, comedy, dinner) [  ]   theater [  ]

coffee house [  ] libraries [  ] college or university [  ] school [  ]

community center [  ] poetry festival [  ]

other venue [  ] (please specify)_________________________________


What types of readings or performances in which you are not taking part do you attend most often?

open mic [  ] poetry feature with an open mic [  ] poetry feature [  ]

group poetry reading [  ] benefit poetry reading [  ] group poetry reading [  ]

poetry festival [  ] event combining poetry with music or other artistic genre [  ]


How often you share your creative writing online?

several times per week [  ] once per week [  ] several times per month  [  ]

once per month [  ]   less often than once per month [  ] rarely [  ]   never [  ]

On what Web site(s) or in what other online venue(s) do you  context?

Websites_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Social Media Sites________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Blogs________________________________________________________________________________


How often you share your creative writing by email?

several times per week [  ] once per week [  ] several times per month  [  ]

once per month [  ]   less often than once per month [  ] rarely [  ]   never [  ]


How often do you read other writers' unpublished creative work on line?

several times per week [  ] once per week [  ] several times per month  [  ]

once per month [  ]   less often than once per month [  ] rarely [  ]   never [  ]


How important a role does creative writing play in your life?

very important [  ] important [  ] somewhat important [  ]

somewhat unimportant [  ] unimportant [  ]

(Please briefly comment on its importance.)













How important a role does reading or performance play in your life?

very important [  ] important [  ] somewhat important [  ]

somewhat unimportant [  ] unimportant [  ]

(Please briefly comment on its importance.)






How important a role do you believe public readings and performances of creative writing play in the life of your community [town, neighborhood, group, other community]?

very important [  ] important [  ] somewhat important [  ]

somewhat unimportant [  ] unimportant [  ]

(Please briefly comment on its importance.)






Do you use public readings and performances of your work as a way to gauge its success or to improve it?

always [  ] often [  ] sometimes [  ] occasionally [  ] never [  ]

(Please briefly comment on your use of readings and performances for this purpose.)













How much have public readings and performances of your own work influenced the substance or style of your creative writing?

a lot [  ] somewhat [  ] a little [  ] not at all [  ]

(Please briefly comment on this influence.)









How much have public readings and performances by other writers influenced your creative writing?

a lot [  ] somewhat [  ] a little [  ] not at all [  ]

(Please briefly comment on this influence.)









Why do you read or perform your work in public? (You may choose more than one answer.)

to gain acknowledgement for my work [  ]   to enjoy sharing my work with an audience [  ]

to gain inspiration from other poets [  ] to discuss poetry with other poets [  ]

to network with other poets [  ] to feel a part of a community [  ] (Please specify

the type of community—group of poets, neighborhood, town, other community)____________________________________________________________________





Do you identify with any particular group(s) of poets, writers or artists? (If so, please identify this group by its name or its association with a certain venue, location or endeavor.)

Yes [  ] No [  ]

Name of Group__________________________________________________________________



Please take a few moments to comment on your experience of performing poetry or watching poetry performed. Why do you read or perform your work in public? What have been your best and worst experiences on the poetry scene? What have you gained or lost from these experiences?