The purpose of this second book of 21 self-contained essays is the same as that of the first volume published in 1972: to bring together the scholarly theory and current research regarding oral interpretation. One third of the essays are centered on literature itself: prose fiction, poetry, and the drama. These essays discuss topics such as point of view, narrative discourse, narrative strategy, poetics and performance, metrical analysis, and imagery and apply them to specific pieces of literature. The remaining 14 essays reflect the broad scope of oral interpretation and include the following: Socrates and the Rhapsode; the use of reading aloud to evaluate daily progress in silent reading; the co-creation of text; the interpreter's interior distance; interpretation as a revelatory act; rhetoric and the effect on the audience; the audience response to the interpreter; sincerity in the performing artist; personality and the performance; selectivity in interpretation; nonverbal communication and oral interpretation; evaluating performed literature; adapting the novel for readers chamber theater; and the use of a montage in readers theater. (MAI)