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“In the beginning we were one blood. / Then the body, stem of thorns, grew / its disagreement from the inside / out.” In this Motionpoems film directed by Tom Speers, Peter LaBerge’s poem “Boy Saint” is narrated by Michael McElhatton. LaBerge is the editor in chief of the Adroit Journal and the author of the chapbook Makeshift Cathedral (YesYes Books, 2017).
“I am begging: Let me be lonely but not invisible.” This Motionpoems film directed by Mohammed Hammad features Natalie Diaz’s poem “American Arithmetic,” which appeared in the anthology Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation (Penguin Books, 2017) edited by John Freeman.
“They await counterintelligence / transmissions from our laptops / and our blue teeth, await word / of humanity’s critical mass, / our ripening.” Kyle Dargan’s poem “The Robots Are Coming” is brought to life in this animated Motionpoems film by Julia Iverson. Dargan’s new poetry collection, Anagnorisis (TriQuarterly Books, 2018), is featured in Page One in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
“If there are fewer stars now / than when I was a child, / I can’t say / which are missing, / who was the last to see them.” Maggie Smith’s poem “Small Shoes” is adapted into a short film by director Kate Dolan for Motionpoems. Smith is the author of the poetry collection Good Bones (Tupelo Press, 2017), the title poem of which went viral on social media after it was first published online in the literary journal Waxwing.
“What are you? Where are you from? / I say, California, / but that’s not what they are looking for...” This Motionpoems film is an adaptation of Tiana Clark’s poem “The Ayes Have It,” directed by Savanah Leaf and narrated by Malina Tirrell. Clark is the author of I Can’t Talk About the Trees Without the Blood (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2018).
This Motionpoems film, presented by Button Poetry, is an adaptation of Cortney Lamar Charleston’s poem “How Do You Raise a Black Child?” directed by Seyi Peter-Thomas and produced by Station Film, in partnership with Cave Canem. Charleston is the author of the poetry collection, Telepathologies (Saturnalia Books, 2017).
“Every time you choose wrong. Blame it on empire.” Gary Jackson’s poem “Tryouts” from his debut collection, Missing You, Metropolis (Graywolf Press, 2010), is animated by Victor Newman and narrated by Chuck Johnson for Motionpoems.
In this Motionpoems film, Matthew Zapruder’s poem “Albert Einstein,” from his collection Sun Bear (Copper Canyon Press, 2014), is animated by John Akre. Zapruder’s most recent book, Why Poetry (Ecco, 2017), explores what poems are and how all readers can enjoy them.
“In between, your mind is full of trees. / And it’s quite dark despite the moon.” This short film of Laura Kasischke’s poem “This Is Not a Fairytale” was created by Laurent Barthelemy and Shizuka Kusayanagi for Motionpoems. Kasischke’s most recent collection, Where Now (Copper Canyon Press, 2017), is longlisted for the 2017 National Book Award in poetry.
“Once you can identify dehumanization, just breath can make a brick cage clumsy.” This short film for Motionpoems is an adaptation of Cynthia Manick's poem “Things I Carry Into the World” featuring four poets from Urban Word NYC: Esther Aloba, Nkosi Nkululeko, Makayla Posely, and Trace DePass.
