I\u2019ve always really loved the process of experiencing the poem with other people. When we use our language in talking about a poem, our language is elevated, too. We can feel our speech being refined and sharpened. I think people love discovering little corners of their own linguistic ability in the process of talking about another piece of language.<\/p>\n
Right now I\u2019m doing this TV series, and each installment is another amazing opportunity to think, \u201cWhat should this look like? What should this sound like? How can you really match all of the media to the poem in a way that will help people who are not accustomed to thinking about poetic language? How can we bring it to life for them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: I would love to learn more about this television series. Can you talk a little bit about how you selected the poems and the contributors?<\/h4>\n
A: <\/strong>Each episode of Poetry in America<\/em> focuses on one poem. In each one, I interview at least one living poet \u2014 usually a very distinguished living poet \u2014 and one celebrity of one kind or another. So there are at least two primary figures appearing in each episode.<\/p>\n I’ve been working recently on an Emily Dickinson episode with Cynthia Nixon, who just played Emily Dickinson in a beautiful film by Terence Davies. She\u2019s an extraordinary actress, and she\u2019s really smart. And then Yo Yo Ma, and then the very wonderful poet Marie Howe. So this episode features two performing artists and a poet.<\/p>\n I chose a poem by Dickinson that most people \u2014 even people who know Dickinson\u2019s work well \u2014 wouldn\u2019t be likely to know. I chose it because its visual possibilities were so exciting. It\u2019s a poem about the art of poetry, but it uses the language of ballet and of opera. It\u2019s a poem that\u2019s about what it\u2019s like to be an artist and asks questions about how important it is to actually perform before an audience or publish for an audience \u2014 which Emily Dickinson never did. In that case, I picked the poem because I thought, \u201cLet\u2019s do Emily Dickinson, who\u2019s a very visual poet, let\u2019s do a Dickinson that\u2019s going to really show off the incredible visual beauty of her language, but also her humor.\u201d It\u2019s a very funny poem, too. And a very serious one. And I thought that these viewers would all love it and would be unfamiliar with it and wouldn\u2019t come with any preconceived notions about it. This episode is making itself; the imagery is so beautiful, and the talents are so splendid.<\/p>\n With President Clinton, whom I asked to be in another episode, he said, \u201cOK, I\u2019ll [be in the] film, but I pick the poem.\u201d I said, \u201cOK, sure! You\u2019re the President; you can pick the poem.\u201d And he picked Langston Hughes\u2019s poem \u201cHarlem.\u201d<\/p>\n You probably know this poem even if you don\u2019t immediately recognize it from the title. It\u2019s the one that goes, \u201cWhat happens to a dream deferred? \/ Does it dry up \/ like a raisin in the sun? \/ Or fester like a sore\u2014 \/ and then run?\u201d<\/p>\n I happened then to notice that Herbie Hancock was at Harvard in the same season that I was filming President Clinton, so I asked Herbie Hancock if he would also read it with me, which he did. And he also composed music for it. And then I invited a wonderful poet, Sonia Sanchez \u2014 a Black Arts poet, an older poet \u2014 to come to Harlem to film with us. So each episode gets its lineup in a different way.<\/p>\n The thrilling thing for me is that, for most people who participate \u2014 not only in my TV series, but also in a lot of the filming I do for my online courses \u2014 most people are not experts and are often not people who read poetry at all. So for me, the power usually comes from the fact that you can genuinely see that these people are having fun sitting there, thinking about a poem.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really thinking about how we can get this material across to anybody. Not people who think they\u2019re already interested, not people who\u2019ve always loved English: anybody.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n We\u2019re doing an episode on a poem about basketball, and Shaquille O\u2019Neal is in it, and Shaquille O\u2019Neal is really into it. And he just gets it, you know? So that\u2019s important for a teacher of poetry.<\/p>\n I\u2019m really thinking about how we can get this material across to anybody. Not people who think they\u2019re already interested, not people who\u2019ve always loved English: anybody. How do you do that? That\u2019s a fun challenge. And it\u2019s Planet Word\u2019s challenge, too!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/planetwordmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/I-cannot-dance-upon-my-Toes.png\")
\nQ: Some of your videos have explored the intersection of music and poetry \u2014 with Nas exploring rap and Pilar Fitzgerald the blues. How do you see rap and music tying into poetry \u2014 especially in light of Bob Dylan\u2019s recent Nobel Prize win?<\/h4>\n