~ Motionpoems ~
Good Bones by Maggie Smith
Motionpoems’ latest release is based on U.S. poet Maggie Smith‘s viral poem. As director Anaïs La Rocca explains,
In the summer of 2016, Maggie Smith sat in a Starbucks in Bexley, Ohio, and wrote a poem. “Life is short, though I keep this from my children,” it began. Smith had no idea that she was setting down the first lines of a work that would seize the mood — and social-media accounts — of so many people in the tumultuous year that was 2016.
A year later, Director Anais La Rocca teamed up with Maggie Smith to bring this poem to life in the short film “Good Bones”.
Good Bones is a heartfelt work that grapples with pain, injustice, unfairness and disillusionment— all in a fantastical story told through the eyes of a six year old girl and the voice of her mother.
Written, directed, produced and post produced by an all female team, this film embodies the power, strength and courage within women, and our responsibility to pass on and teach this courage to our little girls.
In the film, the mother takes on the role of a real estate agent: “I am trying/ to sell them the world. Any decent realtor, walking you through a real s***hole, chirps on about good bones: This place could be beautiful, right? You could make this place beautiful.”
For the text of the poem, see Waxwing, where it originally appeared — or get hold of Smith’s 2017 collection, also titled Good Bones.
You’re Dead, America by Danez Smith
https://vimeo.com/284108166
If you liked This is America, the Childish Gambino rap video by Hiro Murai, you’ll be riveted by this latest film from Motionpoems. Serbian-American director Jovan Todorovic‘s interpretation of a Danez Smith poem is surely one of the most searing and impactful poetry films in Motionpoems’ history. See Todorovich’s website for the full credits.
The film debuted online not at Motionpoems but at Nowness, which included this quote from the director:
America and the American dream is an emotion, and it used to be an attainable dream. This sentiment is quickly dissolving. My wish is to address this despair purely on an emotional level. This is a poetic short film that explores what has happened to the idea of the American Dream… a visceral meditation on the idea of death and decay… and finally, rebirth.
They go on to interview Todorovich “about social sickness, alienation, and poetry’s relationship to film.” It’s worth reading in full; I’ll just quote the last bit:
NOWNESS: A poem is such a mercurial, elusive thing. What was it like turning a poem into a film?
Jovan: It was an exciting and specific process for me precisely because the inspiration was a poem. Because this poem creates feelings through the juxtaposition of very sensory pictures, scenes and moments I was inspired to construct the film similarly. Rather than writing by consciously building meaning I turned to some of my dreams and built the script and scenes around what I feel about the world today. This kind of ‘open’ process of building scenes allowed me to work with all authors on the film in a way where they would have space to put their own experiences and feelings about the theme while staying in line with the emotional tone and context that I’ve initially based the scenes upon.
The poem originally appeared in Buzzfeed on November 9, 2016—the day after the election of Donald Trump—and was reprinted in Smith’s celebrated 2017 collection Don’t Call Us Dead. It’s the latest episode in Motionpoems’ Season 8, “Dear Mr. President,” which has been pretty sensational so far. Kudos all around.
Every Day by Robin Coste Lewis
The physical and spiritual planes intersect in Ryan Simon‘s meditatively paced adaptation of a poem by Robin Coste Lewis, part of Motionpoems’ Season 8, “Dear Mr. President.”
Small Shoes by Maggie Smith
This simple but devastating poetry film pairs U.S. poet Maggie Smith with Irish filmmaker Kate Dolan. It’s the latest web release from Motionpoems’ Season 8, “Dear Mr. President”. As a nature lover I appreciated the inclusion of a starfish in one shot, subtly suggesting a link between the deaths of human refugees and of species impacted by global warming — a small but effective example of how a film can add additional dimensions to the poem on the page.
The Ayes Have It by Tiana Clark
Directed by Savanah Leaf, this is the first film from Motionpoems’ Season 8, “Dear Mr. President,” to be released on the web. Tiana Clark‘s poem is included in her collection I Can’t Talk About the Trees Without the Blood, which won the 2017 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize and is due out this fall from the University of Pittsburgh Press.
Click through to Vimeo for the full credits.
Free poetry film lesson plans from Motionpoems
This Instagram photo of the Motionpoems booth (with poet Eve L. Ewing) at the just-concluded AWP conference in Tampa reminded me that they’ve developed extensive lesson plans for undergraduate poetry writing and filmmaking classes — something I’ve heard several people in the larger poetry film community express a need for over the years. But other than one brief mention back in 2015, I’ve never really covered the Motionpoems lesson plans here. And they look very useful indeed! Go to http://motionpoems.org/teach/ to browse and download the PDFs.
They’ve developed two separate curricula, and I’m just going to copy and paste the text of the entire page in here so you can see why I’m so impressed:
The Motionpoems Poetry Curriculum
Made for undergrad poetry writing classes—but designed to be adaptable for other levels, courses, and genres.
Rather than create a series of lessons that you must teach in a certain order, we’ve created a flexible series of lessons, some of which come with video interviews. You can teach these in a sequence of concept and craft lessons, or you can drop them into a syllabus that you’ve already designed at the appropriate time. It’s also possible, depending on classroom hours, to fill an entire semester with these lessons! If you’re interested in setting up a Skype session with one of our artists, email Saara to see if a virtual conversation is possible.
We plan to add more, depending on audience interest, so tell us what you think and check back often!
ANOMALY, PARADOX, & IRONY
The List Poem: Anomaly, Paradox, Irony & “Cigar Box Banjo,” a lesson plan by Janet Burroway that uses “Cigar Box Banjo” by poet Kim Addonizio and filmmaker Danny Madden.
ANAPHORA
Anaphora, Ritual, & “The Tao of the Black Plastic Comb,” a lesson plan by Saara Myrene Raappana that uses “The Tao of the Black Plastic Comb” by poet Glenis Redmond and filmmaker Irving Hillman.
BONUS: This lesson plan incorporates video interviews with Glenis Redmond and Irving Hillman. Find them here.
REPETITION, NEGATION, & IMPERATIVE
Repetition, Negation, & Imperative in “How Do You Raise a Black Child?” a lesson plan by Saara Myrene Raappana that uses “How Do You Raise a Black Child?” by poet Cortney Lamar Charleston and filmmaker Seyi Peter-Thomas. BONUS: This lesson plan incorporates a video interview with Seyi Peter-Thomas and a text interview with Cortney Lamar Charleston. Find them here and here, respectively.
RHYME
Rhyme & “I’m Over the Moon,” a lesson plan by Athena Kildegaard that uses “I’m Over the Moon” by poet Brenda Shaughnessy and filmmaker Jessica Hundley.
APOSTROPHE
Apostrophe & “The Mother Warns the Tornado,” a lesson plan by Saara Myrene Raappana that uses “The Mother Warns the Tornado” by poet Catherine Pierce and filmmaker Isaac Ravishankara.
TONE
Tone: “The Long Deployment” & “The Mysterious Arrival of an Unusual Letter,” a lesson plan by Janet Borroway that uses “The Long Deployment” by poet Jehanne Dubrow/filmmaker Nicole McDonald and “The Mysterious Arrival of an Unusual Letter” by poet Mark Strand/filmmaker Scott Wenner.
PERSONAL MYTH
Personal Myth & “Things I Carry Into the World,” a lesson plan by Saara Myrene Raappana that uses “Things I Carry Into the World” by poet Cynthia Manick and filmmakers Jamil McGinnis and Pat Heywood.
BONUS: This lesson plan incorporates a video interview with Cynthia Manick, Jamil McGinnis, Pat Heywood, and producer Claire McGirr. Find it here.
AMBIGUITY
(The Right Kind of) Ambiguity & “The Blue Black Wet of Wood,” a lesson plan by Eric Doise that uses “The Blue Black Wet of Wood” by poet Carmen Gillespie and filmmaker Malik Vitthal.
BONUS: This lesson plan incorporates a video interview with Carmen Gillespie. Find it here.
METAPHOR
Metaphor & “A Day at the Mall Reminds Me of America,” a lesson plan by Janet Burroway that uses “A Day at the Mall Reminds Me of America” by poet Sarah Blake and filmmaker Ayse Altinok.
ALLUSION
Allusions! & “The Robots Are Coming,” a lesson plan by Eric Doise that uses “The Robots Are Coming” by poet Kyle Dargan and filmmaker Julia Iverson.
BONUS: This lesson incorporates a video interview with Kyle Dargan and Julia Iverson. Find it here.
FIXED FORM/VILLANELLE
Fixed Form & “The Long Deployment,” a lesson plan by Saara Myrene Raappana that uses “The Long Deployment” by poet Jehanne Dubrow and filmmaker Nicole McDonald.
IMAGE
“Either/Or” & the Necessity for Image, a lesson plan by Athena Kildegaard that uses “Either/Or” by poet Maxine Kumin and filmmaker Adam Tow.
IDEA GENERATION
Generating Ideas & “I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast,” a lesson plan by Saara Myrene Raappana that uses “I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast” by poet Melissa Studdard and filmmaker Dan Sickles.
The Motionpoems “How to Make Motionpoems” Curriculum
We’ve found that the process of making a motionpoem has numerous educational benefits. We’ve seen student filmmakers, regardless of their major, develop:
- a deepened, nuanced understanding, not only of the poem they’re adapting, but of poetry in general;
- skills in project management, video editing software, and artistic collaboration;
- functional, productive vocabularies centered around teamwork, collaboration, and audience;
- really cool motionpoems!
We’re making our “How To Make Motionpoems” curriculum available to you for your classrooms. These lessons, which can be accomplished in 4-6 weeks depending on class hours (maybe even less if you’re pressed for time), were developed for undergraduate, cross-disciplinary classrooms of poetry, film, and music majors, but can be easily adapted for your students regardless of their majors or education level. One middle school Language Arts class even managed to complete this unit in two weeks! Not sure how to do it? Email us for help!
DOWNLOADS:
- Read first: Notes for teachers.
- Day 1 Handout
- Motionpoems Best Practices
- Storyboard Template
- Phase 1 PowerPoint
- Phase 2 PowerPoint
- Phase 3 PowerPoint
- Phase 4 PowerPoint
- Phase 5 PowerPoint
Check out some motionpoems made by students here!
(Again, all of the above was lifted from the Motionpoems website; lengthy blockquotes are cumbersome to read. Kudos to Saara and the other authors for writing and compiling such a tremendous resource for students and educators.)
Poetry film festival news round-up
Weimar Poetry Film Award extends deadline
If you thought you missed your chance to submit to the Weimarer Poetryfilmpreis (original deadline: January 31), you’re in luck: the new deadline is March 31. Here are the guidelines.
Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival open for 2018 submissions on February 28
I’ll share the full announcement next weekend, but for all you eager beavers, gird your loins!
Motionpoems Season 8 Premiere (take 2)
If you missed your chance to attend Motionpoems’ Season 8 premiere screening in New York on February 8 (which was sold out), you’re in luck: they’re holding a second Season 8 premiere in Minneapolis on April 13! You might’ve thought that “second premiere” is a logical impossibility, but that’s the magic of poetry film for you.
Motionpoems Season 8: Dear Mr. President is screening in Minneapolis! Two screenings will be held at 5:30 and 7:30 with a panel discussion in-between. Admission is free, but a $10-20 donation is encouraged to support Motionpoems Season 9. Beer and wine will be available.
Led by Executive Producer Claire McGirr, this year Motionpoems has decided to tackle issues that affect everyone.
Pairing filmmakers & poets to make creative content, Season 8 features 12 short films that tackle racism, LGBTQIA+ rights, immigration, women’s rights, gun control, educational & social welfare, judicial system reform, climate change, and news/media/social platforms.
Our poets include Tiana Clark, Natalie Diaz, Eve L. Ewing, Peter LaBerge, Robin Coste Lewis, Susannah Nevison, Danez Smith, Maggie Smith, Lee Ann Roripaugh, and Nomi Stone.
Their poems were adapted to film by directors Daniel Daly, Kate Dolan, Mohammed Hammad, Anais LaRocca, Savanah Leaf, Monty Marsh, Jane Morledge, Ty Richardson, Ryan Simon, Tom Speers, Jovan Todorovic and Tash Tung.
Light Up Poole winners and shortlist
The overall winner of this new UK competition was Kneading Language by Celia Parra Diaz. Here are the shortlist, the judge’s statement, and the winning film.
Motionpoems Season 8 premiere set for February 8 in New York
The Minnesota-based, nonprofit poetry film production company Motionpoems will be premiering its new season of films in New York City for the first time this year. (Get your tickets here.) But that’s only one of the things that makes this sound so intriguing.
To start with, they’re calling Season 8 “Dear Mr. President.” And they’ve produced films for poems by some of the hippest and most popular poets in the U.S., with directors from around the world:
Led by executive producer Claire McGirr, Motionpoems decided to tackle issues that affect everyone.
The season features poems that tackle racism, LGBTQIA+ rights, immigration, women’s rights, gun control, educational & social welfare, judicial system reform, climate change, and news/media/social platforms.
Our poets include Tiana Clark, Natalie Diaz, Eve L. Ewing, Peter LaBerge, Robin Coste Lewis, Sussanah Nevison, Danez Smith, Maggie Smith,LeeAnn Roripaugh, and Nomi Stone.
Their poems were adapted to film by Dan Daly, Kate Dolan, Mohammad Hamad, Anais La Rocca, Savanah Leaf, Monty Marsh, Jane Morledge, Ty Richardson, Ryan Simon, Tom Speers, Jovan Todorovic, and Tash Tung.
These issues affect populations internationally. Therefore, our filmmakers are international too. Hailing from America, England, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Australia & Serbia, among others, this year our Directors are an eclectic collective of visionaries & artists.
Click through to reserve seats. The premiere is at the Anthology Film Archives, 32 2nd Avenue (at 2nd Street), New York, NY, and I’m told seating is limited. Between this event, and the New York-based Visible Poetry Project set to debut its second season of films in March, is it possible that the east-coast establishment arbiters of American literary taste will finally start paying attention to poetry film? Well, probably not, but we can always dream.
A Sonnet after Chopin’s Requiem by Monique-Adelle Callahan
https://vimeo.com/189987473
A poem by Monique-Adelle Callahan turned into a film by the production company Timber (Jonah Hall and Kevin Lau), who note on Vimeo:
Every year the Motion Poems organization puts on a film festival where they pair a poet along with a filmmaker. The filmmaker is given nothing more than the words on the page to go off of for inspiration. The two never really meet and the result is a new visual interpretation of the poem that new and not influenced by the poet. Timber was lucky to be invited to the 2016 round and 7th season of the Motion Poems series. This year the theme was black poets and the poem we interrupted was Sonnet After Chopin’s Requiem by Monique-Adelle.
Enjoy the visual journey that we were taken on by the beautiful words of the author. Timber explored the ideas of visualizing sound and the experience of Synesthesia. We wanted to experiment with textures and feels and create worlds that evoked movement and ambiguity.
Click through for the credits, and visit Motionpoems to read the text.
Blue Black Wet of Wood by Carmen Gillespie
A film by Sundance Award-winning director Malik Vitthal for Motionpoems, based on the title poem from Carmen Gillespie‘s 2106 collection from Two Silvias Press. An adept juxtaposition of filmpoem lyricism with the kind of storytelling familiar to movie-goers conveys a powerful sense of the experience of loss within the African American community and beyond.
Motionpoems have also released a video interview with Gillespie, filmed and edited by Ramble Pictures, about the origin of the poem and the film:
Eric Doise, who conducted the interview, also put together a lesson plan for poetry teachers [PDF] based on the film and interview — the sort of thing I hope to see a lot more of in the coming years, both from Motionpoems and from other poetry-film makers as well.
Tryouts by Gary Jackson
Animation by Victor Newman of a poem from Gary Jackson‘s book Missing You, Metropolis, which “imagines the comic-book worlds of Superman, Batman, and the X-Men alongside the veritable worlds of Kansas, racial isolation, and the gravesides of a sister and a friend,” according to the publisher’s description. Newman was assisted by animators Jonathan Djob Nkonbo and Jeff Chong, JD McMillin did the sound design, and the voiceover is by Chuck Johnson.
Tryouts was produced by Motionpoems as part of their Season 7, in partnership with Cave Canem. For the text of the poem, see the Motionpoems website.
