Poetry Everywhere

As an attempt to introduce new audiences to a wide selection of contemporary and classic poetry for National Poetry Month, a new project called Poetry Everywhere is bringing verse to the masses through public television, the Internet, and on public transit systems.

Poetry Everywhere features short films of poets reading their own works, animated interpretations of poems, and celebrities reading their personal favorites.

The project is a collaboration between the likes of PBS, The Poetry Foundation, WGBH Boston, David Grubin Productions, and docUWM at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

I haven't seen all the videos yet but some of the featured works include Robert Frost, Mark Strand, Emily Dickinson, Robert Hass, current U.S. Poet Laureate Charles Simic, and many more.

I have to admit it's a little weird to see Mark Strand's poem "Lines for Winter" read by Mary Louise Parker but you should definitely check out John Ashbery's great "Paradoxes and Oxymorons" animated poem read by DJ Spooky.

View the videos here:

Poetry Everywhere - PBS Website

Poetry Everywhere - Poetry Foundation