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This independent documentary film directed by Oscar Corral explores Tom Wolfe’s writing life and his fourth novel, Back to Blood (Little, Brown, 2012), which is set in Miami and focuses on the subject of immigration. Wolfe died at the age of eighty-seven on May 14, 2018.
“I’ve always found that if I examine something, it’s less scary.” This documentary offers an intimate exploration into the trajectory of Joan Didion’s writing career and her personal struggles. Directed by Didion’s nephew Griffin Dunne, the film features interviews with Hilton Als, Harrison Ford, Vanessa Redgrave, Anna Wintour, and others.
“I think that the digital age has made print books more popular in a weird way. It’s made everyone come out of the woodwork that really want to see books survive.” This short film directed by Chad Howitt explores the life of Josh Spencer, owner of the Last Bookstore, and what inspired him to open this popular independent bookstore in downtown Los Angeles.
Based on an unfinished manuscript for a book by James Baldwin that would “tell his story of America through the lives of three of his murdered friends: Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X,” as the opening declares, this Oscar-nominated documentary is directed by Raoul Peck and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.
“I want to be remembered as somebody who told good stories.” This documentary follows Neil Gaiman on his last book signing tour and chronicles his youth and successes as an author. Directed by Patrick Meaney, the film features interviews with the late Terry Pratchett, Lev Grossman, Michael Sheen, and others.
“When you think about all her heroines who struggled to curb their temperament and discipline themselves, you get a sense of the writer herself.” Directed by Nancy Porter, this film biography from PBS's American Masters series, offers an intimate portrait of Louisa May Alcott and the influence her novel Little Women continues to have across cultures and generations.
The Seasons in Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger is a documentary about art critic, novelist, essayist, painter, and poet John Berger, whose latest essay collection is Landscapes: John Berger on Art (Verso Books, 2016). Cowritten by Ben Lerner and Tilda Swinton, the film was released in August 2016.
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, a documentary directed by Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack, celebrates Maya Angelou with rare interviews, home movies and videos, and archival photographs that offer an intimate glimpse into her life.
Directed by Jeff Feuerzeig, this documentary follows the rise and fall of JT LeRoy, a literary persona created by writer Laura Albert, who published two books, Sarah and The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, and was featured in a 2004 interview by Litsa Dremousis in Poets & Writers Magazine.
"It was the end of day. / Shadows came engulfing." As part of the Poets On documentary series, hosted by Carol Frost and directed by Gerard Meola, the late Pulitzer Prize–winning author Donald Justice reads his poetry and attempts to answer such timeless questions as, "What makes a line?" and "How important is originality?"
![Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix](https://www.pw.org/files/styles/video_thumb_medium/public/media-oembed/i.ytimg.com/vi/99NaRJQzXiM/hqdefault.jpg?itok=Zlqz2eJL)
