Great Poets: In Their Own Words

A journey into the BBC archives unearthing glorious performances and candid interviews from some of Britain's greatest poets.

2014-08-10 | en

Time to Read Poems

The experiences of five free-spirited individuals trying to break free from societal norms. Each narrative discusses creativity, mental health, labor activism and gender politics.

2021-03-25 | ko

Sylvia Plath reading poems from Ariel

Sylvia Plath Read 18 Poems From Her Final Collection, Ariel, in a 1962 Recording

1962-08-19 | en

Stéphane Mallarmé

Stéphane Mallarmé is one of the many educational documentaries that Éric Rohmer did for the television during the 1960’s. At the beginning of the film, Rohmer states that he has placed in Mallarmé’s mouth words taken from an interview with the writer by Jules Heuret published in 1891.

1968-01-01 | fr

The Legacy of Othello

A fascinating exploration of the literary — The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, by English playwright William Shakespeare (1604) — and lyrical — Othello, by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (1887) — myth of Othello, the desperately tragic story of a Moorish general in the army of the Venetian Republic whose absurd jealousy poisons his love for his wife Desdemona.

2022-06-12 | de

Elsa the Rose

Images and poems of the celebrated couple Louis Aragon and Elsa Triolet. Elsa’s youth as recalled by Aragon, with commentary by Elsa.

1966-10-23 | fr

If it Won’t Hold Water, it Surely Won’t Hold a Goat

"If it Won’t Hold Water, it Surely Won’t Hold a Goat" is an intimate meditation on the subversive nature of goats and their effect on the people who spend time with them. Centered on the story of the legendary Goat Man - a nomadic figure who spent most of his life walking the roads of Georgia with a wagon pulled by a herd of goats - this experimental documentary weaves together an interview with a goat farmer, footage of the daily rituals Johnson enacted with her own herd, and a poem about the Goat Man’s experimental and spectacular life.

2014-01-01 | en

Where is the Final Destination?

A single tree that has witnessed events, a girl who loves Forough, and a boy who reads Sohrab.

2025-03-28 | fa

Landscape of our Body

As queer trans and gender non-conforming children of the Vietnamese diaspora, we are fragmented at the crossroads of being displaced from not only a sense of belonging to our ancestral land, but also our own bodies which are conditioned by society to stray away from our most authentic existence. Yet these bodies of ours are the vessels we sail to embark on a lifetime voyage of return to our original selves. It is our bodies that navigate the treacherous tides of normative systems that impose themselves on our very being. And it is our bodies that act as community lighthouses for collective liberation. Ultimately, the landscape of our bodies is our blueprint to remembering, to healing, to blooming.

2024-05-24 | vi

TIME

"Time" takes you through the city at night, capturing fleeting moments. With dynamic visuals and an atmospheric soundtrack, this short film explores the nature of existence and memory. Narrated by David Bowie, it invites you to reflect on the passage of time.

2024-06-26 | en

This Is the Way We Rise

An exploration into the creative process, following Native Hawaiian slam poet Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, as her art is reinvigorated by her calling to protect sacred sites atop Maunakea, Hawai`i.

2021-01-28 | en

Wè

As Black and LGBTQ+ History Month begin this February, material science clothing brand PANGAIA leads celebrations with a poetic film that honors these two communities. Following a year of isolation, and with it a deeper understanding of the importance of outdoor spaces and the environment, Wè is a portrait of the self-love and acceptance we have learned to show others and gift to ourselves.

2021-02-03 | en

Come il Bianco

2020-07-06 | fr

Catalan Poets

At underground film of the 1st Popular Festival of Catalan Poetry filmed in the Proce Theater in Barcelona on May 25, 1970, in solidarity with political prisoners. The participating poets were: Agustí Bartra, Joan Oliver (Pere IV), Salvador Espriu, Joan Brossa, Francesc Vallverdú and Gabriel Ferrater.

1970-01-01 | ca

Éramos Livres

Five inmates recite poetry while time keeps passing by.

2024-05-05 | pt

We Are Poets

Six teenage members of the performance poetry collective Leeds Young Authors travel to Washington D.C. to compete in poetry contest Brave New Voices, where they must somehow stay true to their own complex, uniquely British poetry whilst grappling the 'he who shouts loudest' mode of the competition. Brimming with ideas and yes, with excellent poetry, each member of Leeds Young Authors has much to tell us all about being young, and living here and now. An inspirational film, and ample proof if it were ever needed that words can indeed uplift and change lives.

2012-06-28 | en

Alternate Spaces

A short documentary on the River Ouse, following it downstream from Lewes to Newhaven, meditating on the surrounding area.

2022-12-15 | en

L'Arbre et le Soleil

This film is dedicated to Mas-Félipe Delavouët, the poet discovered by Lawrence Durrell, who wrote 14,000 verses in Provençal over a period of thirty years, and who died on November 18, 1990. "The sky, history and Mediterranean and Provençal myths are the inexhaustable wellspring of this man rooted down there, near Salon-de-Provence" (J.-D. Pollet). "Mas-Félipe Delavouët wrote five books in Provençal, 14,000 verses. A sort of "Odyssey". Of myths. What is stunning in him is that he always talks of disappearances. Cities, works, men, writings, television, etc., everything has to disappear. In order to be reborn. No pain. A sort of hand-to-hand of man and nature. During the filming, I would simply throw out some words... For example, one time I said "creation" and he said: "creation doesn't exist..., creation is before me..., I can only read creation"; this sentence describes Delavouët perfectly (J.-D. Pollet, 1989 and 1993).

1990-01-01 | fr

My Mirror is the Door

The ten anthologies and eight long poems of the Sangam age are the oldest and most distinguished body of secular poetry extant in India, of which women poets were a very strong presence.

2012-10-04 | ta

Hermes Bird

This 11 minute homage to the male member shows its subject in the various stages of erection. The voice-over poem by James Broughton includes the line "This is the secret that will not stay hidden."

1979-03-21 | en