~ Poetry + Video ~
Poetry + Video Project: July 2019 Update
Dave has kindly asked me to share news of the Poetry + Video Project, a touring program I have curated, including 25 video poems from around the world. Here is an adapted version of the latest update sent to contributors.
Our premiere screening event in Murwillumbah, Australia on 4 May went very well. It was a boutique gallery venue that held 50 people, and booked out a few days before the show. The live poets on the night, Matt Hetherington and Bronwen Manger, were awesome. It was especially great that they have both been involved in video poetry projects themselves, and were able to comment on this in the Q & A. The audience that arrived was open, curious and engaged about a form that almost none had encountered before. We couldn’t have asked for better. Here is a mini-doco of the event:
In other news, the Kathmandu screening I have been excited about will now be happening later in the year, with the exact date to be decided. Meanwhile, I will be sending the program by USB stick to Ball State University in Indiana very soon, for a screening there in the US Fall. Starting 1 November, the program will be exhibiting online as part of the huge global biennale of digital art and culture, The Wrong.
Other possible screening venues are in process of discussion. Thanks to Maria Vella, Caroline Rumley and Fiona Lam for sending through possible further leads. In other pleasing news, Jane Glennie has agreed to take on the role of UK Manager for the tour, and has very nearly secured a great venue there.
The brochure for venues now includes info on how the tour logistically works. All the videos, stills and promotional materials are ready to be sent by USB stick anywhere in the world, at a moment’s notice. As discussed previously, screening fees are entirely negotiable. For independent groups with little or no budget, fees are waived. The main thing is to share widely the fabulous films in the program.
The website has been updated with links to where all of the videos can be seen, from their individual website pages. Viewing is just one click away by hitting the film still at the top of each video’s info page. These can be accessed via the sidebar links, or from the page titled ‘The Program’.
Please contact poetryvideoproject (at) gmail (dot) com to express interest in bringing the hour-long program to your location.
Poetry + Video: a new touring program of international shorts
This week, Australian filmmaker Marie Craven launched Poetry + Video,
a new touring program of shorts from around the world. This hour-long collection surveys diverse contemporary expressions of poetry in video. A wide range of approaches includes: screen adaptations of page poetry, prose poetry, animations, poetry from found text and media, poetic cinema, text-on-screen, and spoken word.
The program is designed to be highly portable, and easily obtainable on request to screening spaces in any location. It is available for small to medium-sized venues in Australia and other places during 2019/2020.
The premiere screening will be on 4 May, 2019 at Garden Gallery, Murwillumbah, Australia. See the program itinerary for more details, including the outstanding live poets performing on the night. If you are in the vicinity of Murwillumbah, we hope to see you there to celebrate the launch!
The website is admirably complete, with bios of authors and filmmakers as well as descriptions of each film, all indexed in the right-hand sidebar. There’s even a trailer. Check it out.
