I think there is a great difference, in that when the poet is reading you get the whole personality of the person, especially if he's a good reader. Whereas a person just sitting gets what he puts into it.

Laughlin's outdoor activities helped other literary friendships though; for many years he and Kenneth Rexroth took an annual camping trip together in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. At times Laughlin's skiing got in the way of his business. Biography
He was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania the son of Henry Hughart and Marjory Rea Laughlin.