Poets & Writers Theater
Every day we share a new clip of interest to creative writers—author readings, book trailers, publishing panels, craft talks, and more. So grab some popcorn, filter the theater tags by keyword or genre, and explore our sizable archive of literary videos.
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“That is what poems are: / with mercy / for the greedy, / they are the tongue’s wrangle,/ the world’s pottage, the rat’s star,” reads Anne Sexton from her poem “With Mercy for the Greedy” in this 1973 episode of the Brockport Writers Forum with interviewers William Heyen and A. Poulin, Jr., in which she discusses her work, confessional poetry, and influences.
Tags: Poetry | Anne Sexton | Brockport Writers Forum | William Heyen | A. Poulin, Jr. | 1973 -
Linda Gray Sexton's memoir Searching for Mercy Street: My Journey Back to My Mother, Anne Sexton, originally published in 1994 by Little, Brown, was just rereleased in paperback by Counterpoint Press. Anne Sexton herself wrote a play titled Mercy Street, and a posthumous book of poetry, 45 Mercy Street, was published in 1976, two years after she committed suicide. In 1986, Peter Gabriel released his fifth album, So, which includes the song "Mercy Street," dedicated to the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet.
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Half in Love: Surving the Legacy of Suicide by Linda Gray Sexton, the daughter of poet Anne Sexton, was published last week by Counterpoint. In this clip, which was produced shortly after the publication of Diane Middlebrook's 1991 biography of the poet, Anne Sexton reads her work and appears in home movies taken before her death in 1974.