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 was filmed at the Biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, where poets gather every two years to read and discuss their work with large audiences of students and fellow poets. In this program, poets Robert Bly, Galway Kinnell, Sharon Olds, Octavio Paz, and William Stafford read and discuss their work. As Robert Bly observes: "Suppose you only knew 15 words. You could still make...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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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: 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: 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: This program features poets Li-Young Lee and Gerald Stern in a poetry reading and in extensive interviews. A main subject of Stern's poetry is memory. His Jewish heritage provides him with the inspiration and direction to resurrect and reconstruct past experiences. Li-Young Lee's poetry reflects his struggle with his Chinese heritage: how to recognize a culture to which he has been inextricably...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: Adrienne Rich, Victor Hernandez Cruz, and Michael S. Harper have changed the way poetry is heard, read, and absorbed. This program showcases these three poets who exult in language's ability to illuminate culture and history. Filmed at the Biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Two courageous women artists who have turned potential tragedy into triumph are testimony to the healing powers of poetry. In this program, authors Sandra McPherson and Linda McCarriston revel in the beauty of love, family, and nature, exploring and elevating their lives through wondrous and passionate words. Filmed at the Biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
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: 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: From the jazz-laced street speech of African-American poet Sekou Sundiata's Harlem nights to Palestinian-American Naomi Shihab Nye's delight in the wonder of everyday objects, this program celebrates the cultures of today-and the way those cultures have become part of the American mosaic. Filmed at the Biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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: 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
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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
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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: Robert Pinsky, Poet Laureate of the United States for an unprecedented third term, finds his inspiration in common things, transforming the culturally unpoetic into masterpieces of verbal expression. In this program, Bill Moyers and Mr. Pinsky discuss topics including his love of the English language, the pervasive influence of history, and the flourishing of poetry on the Internet. Readings by...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program features poets who turn to the past and to their own cultural heritage to understand the present. They eloquently reflect their own personal journeys through poetry. Garrett Kaoru Hongo's work reflects his Japanese-American heritage. Hongo began to write poetry because he wanted "more than anything to belong to the history of Asians in America. Joy Harjo's poetry is influenced by...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: A Pulitzer Prize-winner before she was 35, Rita Dove is the youngest poet to have held the post of Poet Laureate of the United States (1993-1995) In this program with Bill Moyers, Dove talks about her life and work, the relationship between poetry and power, and her plans for taking poetry to the people. The program also features Dove reading extensive selections from her works (including her...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005