A McLaren Workshop App Poem

I used the National Film Board's McLaren Workshop App and created a video poem inspired by the late great Canadian animator, Norman McLaren, a childhood idol of mine.

And thank you for the plug NFB!

Enjoy.

G

Elephant Meets Giraffe

Elephant Meets Giraffe by gspoet on GoAnimate

Create Video - Powered by GoAnimate.

Not With a Bang but a Twitter

#notwithabangbutatwitter by gspoet on GoAnimate

Video Maker - Powered by GoAnimate.

In Flanders Fields Animated Poem for Remembrance Day

The Tell-Tale Heart Animation

I've been reading a lot of Poe lately and I recently discovered this amazing 1953 short film based on his classic, "The Tell-Tale Heart".

The artwork is hauntingly gorgeous and James Mason's narration is perfect.

Enjoy!

Matthea Harvey Animated Poem

There's a pretty cool animated poem by Matthea Harvey on the Poetry Foundation website from Poetry Everywhere. The poem is called "Shiver and You Have Weather".

View the video here and read the complete poem here.

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

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

I stumbled upon a digital poem created by Edward Picot, who interprets Wallace Stevens' famous thirteen-part poem, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird". It's quite beautiful. Although, similarly to Billy Collins' Action Poetry, I find the animations risk distracting the viewer from the magic of the poems' original lines. Especially when specific moments of abstract beauty are interpreted too literally. Still, Picot's reimagining of Steven's poem is worth checking out.

View Edward Picot's "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird".

The Simpsons set to hit 400 episodes

The Simpson Family (AP Photo/Fox Broadcasting Co.)

Anyone else drooling in anticipation for The Simpsons Movie coming out in July? Who knows if it will be any good but a movie 18 years in the making better be damn good. The Nation has an interesting article on the impact of The Simpsons and its upcoming 400th episode.

Read it here.

Animated New Yorker Cartoons

Ever wondered what a New Yorker cartoon would look like animated? Well, wonder no more! The New Yorker has partnered with Ring Tales to present animated versions of classic New Yorker cartoons. Eeeeeeeee! (That's my excited sound).

View them here.

Oscars Aftermath

The Danish Poet - National Film Board of Canada

Last night's Academy Awards show was actually very entertaining and full of surprises. In my opinion they successfully overhauled the show - unlike the recent Grammy Awards snooze-fest - making the Oscars quirky and taking itself less seriously than in previous years. I was shocked that neither "Water" nor "Pan's Labyrinth" won best foreign film, but to be fair, I haven't seen "The Lives of Others". I was, however, extremely happy for Montrealer Torill Kove's win for "The Danish Poet" in the best animated short category. Not only does Canada pick up a win but the film's about a poet!

Read about Kove's win here.

Ryan Larkin dies at age 63

Ryan Larkin, renowned animator and recent subject of the Oscar-winning short, Ryan, has died at at the age of 63. This makes me so sad. He was recently working on a new film about his experiences on the streets of Montreal and was starting to get himself together.

Read his obituaries from The Montreal Gazette and from the CBC.

Billy Collins: Animated Poems

I've seen a number of Billy Collins' "video poems" on YouTube and Google Video but I recently found a site that, I believe, has all of them. Sometimes the animations distract the viewer from the poetry but I still find the whole concept interesting and worth delving into. While I love "No Time" and "The Country" as poems, I'm not so sure about their interpretations. "Forgetfulness", "The Best Cigarette", and "Today" are my favorite animations.

Visit Billy Collins: Action Poems.