Screening Poetry: Flicker Poetry Redux
Thursday, April 29, 2010 | 8-11pm | $5
Two years ago, The Bridge Film Series hosted it’s first fusion of poetry and film. This event aimed to take the fear out of poetry. For those who associate poetry with that hushed “poets” voice or with romantic tom foolery, this event takes seriously John Ashbery’s idea that poetry can be something else.
Poetry doesn’t have to be the purple eye of God extolling your soul, it can be a simple process of experience resting and recording. The films range from the ultra-rare Silent movie Money directed by Rudy Burckhardt with intertitles written by artist-poet Joe Brainard to Henry Hills raw document of the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry movement. In between films, we will hear from current or former Charlottesville poets: published and unpublished, aspiring and accomplished.
Poets: Sam Witt, John Bylander, James Mattise, Hannah Ehrlinspiel.
Films:
Money
1968, 16mm, b&w/so, 45m
Directed by Rudy Burckhardt
A silent screen-type comedy starring Edwin Denby as Hemlock Stinge.
“It deals with old Mr. Stinge, the unlovable billionaire, and many other characters, rich and poor. It shows the luxury and degradation of New York City and the simple fresh air of Maine. The story can’t resist slowing up to look at a girl; it skips a few logical links when it gets too complicated. It is being told by a hard-drinking farmer to his son to inspire him to become a billionaire too. The photography is masterful and draws no attention to itself. The text by Joe Brainard, ditto. The documentary sequences show people and buildings on the kind of real life day when you keep finding comedy wherever you look. Special to Burckhardt is the light touch. The jokes – many small touching ones, others outright gags – are left unexploited and unexplained. The characters are all pretty bad, money is the root of all evil, and they ought not to enjoy themselves but they do anyway. The film is clearly unpretentious, free-wheeling and imaginative.” – Edwin Denby
USAPoetry: Frank O’Hara
1966, 15 min, video
Directed by Richard O. Moore
O’Hara discusses with Leslie his work and the relationship between poets, playwrights, and artists. O’Hara also reads some of his poetry and talks about his friendships with other artists. Filmed on 5 March 1966 at O’Hara’s home and Leslie’s studio in New York City.
Plagiarism
1981, 16mm, color/so, 10min
Directed by Henry Hills
A raw documentary of the New York “language poets” in their milieu, with Bruce Andrews and Charles Bernstein (co-editors of L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E), James Sherry and Hanna Weiner.
Process
1974, 16mm, black and white, silent, 13.5 min
Directed by Eduardo Darino
“This is a film d’montage. The shooting has been completely improvised after two months of rehersals of the film-maker with the New YorkStreet Theatre. The cast directed by Marketta Kimbrell (The Pawnbroker, Judgement at Nuremberg, etc) was perparing one of the last poems of Nobel Prize Chilean Pablo Neruda for their repertory. At the same time, the theatre and the film-crew discussed the possibilities of the film., the characters of the poem and the creative process of each individual actor reaching the latinamerican reality sung by Neruda. The film puts together three narrative lines: the reality, the poem, and the performance with a marvelous editing.” Nino Buono (News Agency Cable)
