Summary: Like musicians, Lucille Clifton and Mark Doty stress the rhythmic and musical qualities of poems, the former shaping them with economical, everyday language and the latter with language more baroque. In this program, Bill Moyers and the two poets discuss topics such as the weight of racial memory and the encounter between self and history. Readings by Ms. Clifton showcase "Fury-for Mama,"...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This program features the poems of Louis Jenkins, Hal Sirowitz, Philip Levine, Joy Harjo, Robert Creeley, Brenda Hillman, Robert Hass, and others. In addition, several poets discuss poetry as work and what it's like to share a life of poetry with fellow writers; young winners of a statewide poetry contest read several of their poems; and advice for fledgling poets is offered. Filmed at the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: This program features readings and comments by the late Allen Ginsberg. Ginsberg analyzes the poetry of Blake, then reads from his own poems, "Do the Meditation Rock" and "Skeleton. Other poets include Vietnamese-born Le Thi Diem Thuy, Robert Hass, Mark Doty, Marie Howe, and Yusef Komunyakaa. Komunyakaa, Li-Young Lee, Louis Jenkins, and Hass discuss poetic interpretations of personal and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: Filmed at the Biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, this program features the poets Robert Bly, Lucille Clifton, and W. S. Merwin, reading their works and discussing them. Robert Bly often uses music to emphasize the spiritual nature of poetry. He believes that the aim of poetry is to "drop us into the moist, nurturing underworld where the soul lives. Lucille Clifton's work often focuses...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: In this captivating program, Bill Moyers explores the vitality and diversity of contemporary poetry through intimate interviews and performance readings at the Biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival-North America's largest. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, Amiri Baraka, Stanley Kunitz, Coleman Barks, Lucille Clifton, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Paul Muldoon, Marge Piercy, Shirley Geok-lin Lim,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: In this program, several contemporary poets read from their poems and discuss why they write, and for whom. Poets include Robert Hass, Mark Doty, Thylias Moss, Pattiann Rogers, Carol Muske, Gerald Stern, and Yehuda Amichai. Poetic themes include death, aging, self-realization, race, and gender. Rogers, Moss, Muske, and poet Brenda Hillman discuss the role of women in the field of poetry. Filmed...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: The recipient of virtually every honor that can be bestowed upon a poet, Stanley Kunitz has been a source of encouragement for a century of budding talent and a tireless promoter of the arts. In this program, Bill Moyers and Mr. Kunitz discuss topics such as his love of life and the recurring theme of renewal in his work. Readings by Mr. Kunitz spotlight "The Flight of Apollo," "The Lincoln...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Lorna Dee Cervantes began writing poetry at the age of eight and founded her own press to publish the works of Mexican-Americans. Dr. Shirley Geok-lin Lim, an English professor and Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer, uses her Chinese/Malaysian roots to bring a unique Asian-American perspective to her writing. In this program, Bill Moyers and the two poets discuss topics that revolve around the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: In this program, two poets reflect on the cultural legacies they have inherited. Lucille Clifton and David Mura bring their talent and humor to bear as they look at the past and the lives they live in America today. Filmed at the Biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program profiles Stanley Kunitz, one of America's leading poets. Kunitz reads his poetry and discusses his work in extensive interviews. "You don't choose the subject [of your poetry]," says Kunitz, "it chooses you. He asserts that poets must aim simply to "be as true as we can to the grain of life. Kunitz also stresses the importance of reading poetry aloud: "It is important to test your...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: The poetry of Deborah Garrison, who recently made her debut with her critically acclaimed collection A Working Girl Can't Win, speaks in a voice sometimes defiant and tinged with sarcasm, but humorous, too, and sweetened by tender longing. In this program, Bill Moyers and Ms. Garrison discuss topics centering on her experiences as a woman in the workforce. Readings by Ms. Garrison feature "The...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program features poets James Autry and Quincy Troupe, both of whom work with the oral tradition to lift poetry off the page and bring it into the community. James Autry, a businessman and publisher, writes poetry about the business world and the Southern culture of his youth. His work includes such poems as "Thoughts on Firing a Salesman. In this program, Autry reads his poetry at a...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: Coleman Barks, Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Georgia, has become the primary conduit for translating into English the ecstatic poetry of the 13th-century Sufi poet Jelaluddin Rumi, the bard of Islam. In this program, Bill Moyers and Dr. Barks discuss topics including the intricate challenge of transforming antiquated Persian idiom into modern English while retaining its...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Artist/activist Amiri Baraka has managed to alter not merely the face of African-American writing, but its very sound and substance as well: among the first to promote Africanized English, he also introduced an element of jazz into poetry. In this program, Bill Moyers and Mr. Baraka discuss topics centering on the black experience in America. Readings by Mr. Baraka spotlight "Funklore," "First...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006