Gang of Souls (1989) is Maria Beatty’s engaging documentary exploring the insights and influences of the American Beat Poets. The film conveys their consciousness and sensibility through candid interviews with William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Diane Di Prima, among others. Designed as a tribute to them and to their spirit of artistic freedom, Gang of Souls also weaves in additional commentary from contemporary musicians, poets and writers such as Marianne Faithfull, Richard Hell, Lydia Lunch and Henry Rollins. The film seeks to truly capture the magic of the Beat generation and it’s continuing legacy.

Besides that I’ve been working on poems for the NC Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series. I’m working with a great professor, John Hoppenthaler.  He’s given me thorough feedback, recommended a few good poets, and suggested insightful essays. I’m very lucky to work with him.

I’ve also been busy trying to write new poems. I went to the first Cave Canem South for a weekend of workshops and readings. It was amazing. If you don’t know what Cave Canem is, then you’re not reading what I’m beginning to believe is some of, if not the best poetry in the United States. The weekend I went was a joint venture between Cave Canem and the South Carolina Poetry Initiative and the weekend tutors were Kwame Dawes, Nikkey Finney, Patricia Smith, and Frank X Walker. All were great and I learned a lot in the three days I was in Columbia. There were also some great voices participating in the workshop and I will admit to being a little intimidated. I can’t wait to see what bright future is ahead for all the poets involved.

Valentine’s Day was a fun night as well. I’ll soon upload videos I’m editing from Wilmington’s Bad Love Poetry Night at the Browncoat Pub & Theatre. I’m taking part in a bunch of readings in April; I’ll post a list soon. Etched Press is also publishing a new chapbooks soon, so I’ll be busy preparing that. This has been, and will continue to be, a great year for poetry.

Road to Perdition
Memento
Amelie
The Dark Knight
City of God
Avatar
Gladiator
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Meet the Parents
The Fountain
Inglorious Basterds
Adaptation
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Count of Monte Cristo
Children of Men
Once
O’ Brother Where Art Thou
Borat
Brick
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Into the Wild
Whatever Works
Little Miss Sunshine
Mean Girls
RENT
Talladega Nights
The Incredibles
Good Dick
Knocked Up
Lost in Translation
No Country for Old Men
Serenity
There Will be Blood
Up in the Air

Close, a week too early, but you should still see it:
Galaxy Quest (Dec. 25, 1999)

Movies to See that will make you go WTF:
3. Y Tu Mama Tambien
2. Deadgirl [Unrated Edition]
1. Ken Park

Movie I absolutely hated that everyone loved:

District 9

The combination of poetry and film is something that doesn’t have a large audience, but some believe it is the next step in bringing poetry to the general public again. Visual poetry gives a poem a new life and can lead viewers to a particular interpretation in a way similar to music in the 1980′s when music videos became popular.

In the contemporary world of poetry, most books of poetry are bought by other poets and the academy. In the same line of thinking most poetry readings and spoken word events/competitions are attended mostly by other poets and the friends of poets participating. There isn’t a general audience of poetry for those who aren’t associated with it.

Short visual poetry is something that could potentially invite more people into the world of contemporary poetry. There have been a few articles in magazines about it. One in Poets & Writers magazine discusses the history of visual poetry form and the direction in which it might be headed. It also points to several destinations where they can be found.

Visual poetry is all over the web in small communities. The best resource I’ve found is the Video Poetry Archive at About.com which links to other websites that contain video poetry. Is the visual poem a viable medium, or a niche form that can only be appreciate by a small audience? Only time will tell.

http://poetry.about.com/od/videopoetry/Poetry_Shows_Video_Archives.htm