Poetry in Motion (1982)

Poetry in Motion: Directed by Ron Mann. With Helen Adam, Miguel Algarín, Amiri Baraka, Ted Berrigan. More than 20 contemporary North American poets recite, sing, and perform their work. Several also comment. Early in the film, Charles Bukowski talks about the energy of poets and of a poem. These poets are energetic performers, and their poems are meant to be heard. These poets are the children of Walt Whitman and of Charles Olson, incantatory and oratorical, radical, sometimes incorporating contemporary political imagery. Black Mountain poets, the Beats, minimalists like John Cage, the wordless Four Horsemen, Tom Waits, and others capture aspects of poets as troubadours.

“Charles Bukowski was the first poet I was ever able to read,so when I saw he was in this film,I knew I had to see it.What I discovered is that Buk is not the only great poet of the 20th century.This is an amazing collection of everybody from William S. Burroughs to Tom Waits and Alan Ginsberg doing their thing and every single one of these poets is incredible.This film is a constant barrage of words and music and it could have been eight hours long and it still would have had me mesmerized.An incredible experience.”