UW News

April 13, 2011

UW Poetry Film Series

UW News

W.H. Auden likened poets to makers of “verbal objects.” Filmmakers attempt to bring those objects to life. As part of National Poetry Month — and in connection with the 2011 Common Book, You Are Never Where You Are — the UW Libraries is presenting a series of films with poetry connections.

The selection ranges from an animated tale to an all-consuming affair to an antagonistic beatnik… all of which have their roots in poetry. All films will be shown in 220 Odegaard and everyone is welcome to attend.

Howl, 4:30 p.m. April 20. San Francisco, 1957. Poet Allen Ginsberg has just published Howl which immediately generates a great deal of controversy.  Challenges of being too explicit for publication lead to charges of obscenity. The subsequent trial tested the boundaries of freedom of expression. 84 minutes.

Bright Star, 4:30 p.m. April 27. Inspired by Keats’s poetry and the actual love letters the pair exchanged, Bright Star details the passionate three-year romance between 19th century Romantic poet John Keats – who died at 25 – and his great love and muse, Fanny Brawne. 119 minutes.

The Iron Giant, 4:30 p.m. May 4. Hogarth Hughes just rescued an enormous robot that fell from the stars to Earth. Now young Hogarth has one very big friend and an even bigger problem: how do you keep a 50-foot-tall, steel-eating giant a secret? Based on The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. 86 minutes.