Paris at Night by Jacques Prévert
http://youtu.be/zTZxcww5OCY
Poem by Jacques Prévert
Video by vandicla
Here for reference purposes are the text and an English translation as copied from an anonymous webpage, which notes that the title of the original is in English:
Paris at Night
| Trois allumettes une à une allumées dans la nuit La première pour voir ton visage tout entier La seconde pour voir tes yeux La dernière pour voir ta bouche Et l’obscurité tout entiére pour me rappeler tout cela En te serrant dans mes bras. |
Three matches one by one struck in the night The first to see the whole of your face The second to see your eyes The last to see your mouth And the complete and utter darkness to remember them all While holding you in my arms. |
Though in other video poems I might object to a less than fully audible reading, here, I like the way the poem is submerged — a low mutter appropriate to the darkness from which flame, face, and song struggle to emerge.
Meta-Free-Phor-All
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Meta-Free-Phor-All: Shall I Nail Thee to a Summer’s Day? | ||||
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Something for April Fool’s Day — and the first day of (Inter-)National Poetry Month — from a king of fools. This episode of the Colbert Report aired on April 19, 2007. Colbert seems to genuinely like poetry, and has interviewed a number of poets on his show. I like the way this skit plays off the misconception popular with people who “just don’t understand poetry”: that a poem (or metaphor) is basically a code with one correct solution. I’m also impressed by Robert Pinksy’s stage presence and acting skills.
Incision by Jillian Weise
Poem by Jillian Weise, from An Amputee’s Guide to Sex
Animation by John Roberts
From the publisher’s description:
The Amputee’s Guide to Sex is an authentic exploration of disability and sexuality. Tired of seeing “cripples” appear as asexual characters in all forms of media, Weise took on a subject close to home: her own disability. This does not mean that these poems “happened” to Weise in real life. While based on the experience of an above-the-knee amputee, the poems have a life of their own.
Lullaby by Anne Sexton
Poem by Anne Sexton
Video by Jeff Doud
Once Upon a Time by Vishwajyoti Ghosh
Poem by Vishwajyoti Ghosh, narrated by Ramesh Venkatraman
Animation by Nilratan Mazumdar
According to the credits at the end this is one of 60 one-minute films commissioned by motiroti, “a London based international arts organisation.” A link on its 60×60 secs page leads to another site that describes the project in somewhat more detail:
60×60 Secs is the first project of the 360° programme, and comprises of 60 one-minute films from 60 artists, 20 each from Britain, India and Pakistan.
Commissioned via open call both established and emerging artists, working in a variety of mediums and spanning a wide age range, present their unique views on ‘home’. Looking beyond media, political and religious definitions, 60×60 Secs unravels complex identities and stories, and redefines cultures that are evolving in an age of globalisation.
The site includes pages for all sixty films, including this one, containing low-, medium- and high-quality Quicktime versions, a brief description, and more detailed credits. Evidently the poet was also responsible for the drawings used in the animation, and directed it as well.
Cassandra, Iraq by C. K. Williams
C. K. Williams talks about the language of politics and the Iraq war, and reads his poem “Cassandra, Iraq” in a video from Big Think.
http://youtu.be/UQn2Y1Z9XHA
Here’s another interview with Williams in which he addresses more general concerns, also concluding with a reading of “Cassandra, Iraq.” This one was directed and produced by Mel Stuart for the Academy of American Poets.
Holy Island by Deborah Buchan
http://youtu.be/OzAOGh5FaF8
Poem by Deborah Buchan (text here)
Film by Dawn Furness
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Film by Philip Shotton
Both these videos were “commissioned by New Writing North, the literature development agency for the north east of England.”
The Frigidaires of Idaho by Virginia Shank
Poem and animation by Virginia Shank, with music by One Ring Studio
A rare example of a poet making a video interpretation of her own work — and in claymation yet! She gets huge respect from me. I found more information about the project in a blog post.
It’s nice to see that months of work have turned out so well and it’s hard to believe that Virginia found time to sculpt each frame by hand (for a total of literally thousands of individual frames) when she had three classes to take, a literary magazine (Fugue) to read for, and two classes to teach. But she’s like that – when she’s not making the best sushi for a hundred miles or singing Nancy Sinatra at our weekly MFA karaoke sessions, she’s doing THIS.
Hunger by Billy Collins
Poem by Billy Collins
Animation by SamuelChristopher/FAD, commissioned by the Sundance Channel’s Action Poetry Series
Nazim Hikmet Oratorio by Fazil Say
Updated 15 May 2016 with a new video. The text below refers to earlier YouTube uploads of portions of the work.
Nazim Hikmet Oratoryosu, by Fazil Say (at piano)
Poetry by Nazim Hikmet
Bilkent Symphony Orchestra and State Polyphonic Choir, conducted by Ibrahim Yazici
Vocals in “My Country” by Kansu E. Tanca (child) and Genco Erkal; reading in “Traitor” by Zuhal Olcay
To appreciate the first section, it probably helps to know that Hikmet spent most of his adult life in exile. In fact, his citizenship was only just restored, posthumously, 46 years after his death.
One more section of the oratorio with English subtitles seems worth sharing, despite the fact that the video ends abruptly. The subtitles here are in captioning that must be turned on via the arrow-shaped icon on the bottom right corner of the video.
[dead link]
The poem is Yasamaya Dair, “On Living,” and the translation here is by Randy Blasing and Mutlu Konuk. Poetry doesn’t get much more life-affirming than this — at least, not without turning into very bad poetry. I love that Nazim puts grief at the center of it, as the source or motive for our determination to live fully.
Heart Wrap by Shamshad Khan
Poem by Shamshad Khan
Film by Lisa Risbec, with narration by the author
Commissioned by Comma Film
One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
Film by Erica Tachoir
One of the more unique and ambitious approaches to the video poetry genre I’ve seen so far. I like the meta- aspect here, what the film says about readers and how poems intertwine with their lives. I also like the implicit judgement against people who can’t tolerate poetic expression.
