An Introduction to Poetry, 9th ed., edited by X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia (Longman 1997)
In . . . open form poetry, sound and rhythm are positive forces. When speaking a poem in open form, you often may find that it makes a difference for the better if you pause at the end of each line. try pausing there, however briefly; but don’t allow your voice to drop. Read just as you would normally read a sentence in prose (except for the pauses, of course). Why do the pauses matter? Open form poetry usually has no meter to lend it rhythm. Some lines in an open form poem, as we have seen in Whitman’s “dimes on the eyes” passage, do fall into metrical feet; sometimes the whole poem does. Usually lacking meter’s aid, however, open form, in order to have more and more noticeable rhythms, has need of all the recurring pauses it can get. When reading their own work aloud, open form poets like Robert Creeley and Allen Ginsberg often pause very definitely at each line break.
As in music, so in poetry, silence can be as important as sound. But note that Kennedy and Gioia say that the pause should be very brief and the sentence should be read normally. As in music, so in poetry, a rest should be of short duration. I am no fan of readings that make an exaggerated stop at the ends of lines. Listening to poetry can be very difficult and, for me at least, an over-stylized reading can be a distraction from the real music of the language.
