Customer Reviews

The United States of Poetry [VHS]

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Produced by Bob Holman from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, this video brings poetry to life in an accessible way. It is able to live up to its name by presenting self-performed works, categorized in themes, by cowboy poets, immigrant poets, urban poets, celebrity poets (Alan Ginsburg, Lou Reed, Jimmy Carter and more), published poets and even child poets. The staging of the performances is fabulous, and the poems themselves range from inspiring to funny to poignant. I especially liked Paul Beatty, Maggie Estep, Pedro Pietri and Jimmy Carter.

This video is a collection of short films which feature poets reading their work and visual interpretation. It's well edited and at times, visually stunning. Some of the films are over-dramatic, but the readings are all superb and inspired. I recommend it highly. Lots of diversity and some very funny and touching poems of the utmost quality.

If the only televised poetry programming you have seen has been from HBO ("Russell Simmon's Presents Def Poetry") or MTV ("Spoken Word Unplugged"), then I highly recommend the PBS series "The United States of Poetry," a fantastic series celebrating American verse which was utterly ahead of its time.

"The United States of Poetry" not only emancipates poetry from the page but frees it from the traditional performance stage. Instead taking the traditional tack of filming poets doing their thing live behind a mike, visionary director Mark Pellington provides depth and contrast with creative visuals and real & poetic landscapes, allowing each poet's work to really shine. It is wonderful to see and hear work by some of America's best known poets, including Allen Ginsburg, Rita Dove, Leonard Cohen, Derek Walcott, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Sandra Cisneros and Bob Holman, among many many others.

Organized by theme ("A Day in the Life," "Love and Sex," etc...), the series shows a compelling and diverse vision of American poetry. Even better, the poets are introduced only with their name and the poem's title -- no biography, titles or prizes spotlighted. Slam poets and Cowboy poets are introduced the same as Pulitzer Prize winners and U.S. poet laureates! It has a wonderfully empowering effect, allowing you to value each piece based on whether or not it resonates with you as opposed to the pedigree of its writer.

Even though it is over a decade old, I still return to this series again ang again. I am so thrilled that it is finally on DVD as my poor worn-out VHS was on its last legs. I hope the new format will inspire more people to check out this wonderful & inspiring series!

This DVD is not closed captioned. Also it has a poor/grainy quality to it. Unfortunately, it is not accessible for people with hearing loss (Deaf/Hard of Hearing).

This mezmerizing program is artfully designed in three segments around three themes--the land and the people, a day in the life, and the American dream. The poems are performed as spontaneous monologs spoken by a wide cross-section of Americans going about their daily lives in real life settings--on the street, in the home, in subways, and at work. The videography, use of light, and sound editing enhance the dramatic performances without compromising the intimacy and authenticity of the poets' voices. A wide range of poets are represented, including Joseph Brodsky, Sandra Cisneros, Leonard Cohen, Rita Dove, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac (read by Johnny Depp), Czeslaw Milosz, and Naomi Shihab Nye. The topics reflect the light and dark side of life in America from the intimately personal to the deep social issues that divide us. The program's engaging and hip style provocatively challenges us to take a closer look at the experience of living in America today. 120 minutes, in color.

I was amazed at how the visual part of the poetry video worked so well with the poems. If you are neutral or less enthusiastic about poetry, this video will open you to the exciting world of poetry.

Amazing. Moving. And the range is astounding. There are poems about having sex at 40, and having cocoa after killing a child. About misplaced belongings, and blind grandfathers. I love it.

i watched this series in my creative writing class for our poetry section. we were all pretty blown away when a guy in a white suit drinking a martini came on screen and recited his poem. he said the words. "i find it most pleasurable when my lover drips hot candle wax on my nipples" it was hilarious, like playing air hockey with god. worth every penny!

Presented with the quality and grounding of traditional acedemia, it reaches into the heart and beauty of layman's culture. How ever far we've wandered since its production in the mid nineties, these poems spill that time into your lap. It was a time of relative innocence and living it again will make you sigh, or cry. In the opening montage which is all American and all exitement, a weathered voice informs us- "if it ain't a pleasure, it ain't a poem." Then they begin to flow.
You hear lines like, "The piano stands there in the dark, like a boy with an orchid." or "it's hard to be angry when you're trying on the shoes of dead people." or "I've come to see the Arab." The exquisite photography, the angles and the personalities of the poets give you the vision. Then the words "flow like warm honey." Get this DVD. You will watch it again and again and you will love America.