poetry is (Speaking Portraits) [Vol. I--v. 1.4]--

In his ongoing video art work of “speaking portraits,” poet/artist George Quasha puts an impossible, but unavoidable, question before poets of all kinds and in many places: what is poetry? In response poets let us in on their private space of poetry definition. This intimate view of speaking faces, each filling the screen, shows how different it is for poets/artists to say what poetry or art is than for others (critics, historians, philosophers, viewers). For a particular poet, poetry may not only be an object, a thing historically defined, but something close to the core of one's life, perhaps even a singular event. Here we gain unique access to its nature in the person speaking.

61 POETS IN VOL. I:

Ammiel Alcalay, Hector Alves, David Antin, Arman, Coleman Barks, Caroline Bergvall, Charles Bernstein, Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge, Harvey Bialy, Blue, Lee Ann Brown, Tisa Bryant, Elizabeth Clark, Michael Coffey, Alan Davies, Michel Deguy, Timotha Doane, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Fisher, Joanna Fuhrman, Eric Gansworth, Steven Goodman, Carla Harryman, Kevin Hart, David Henderson, Mitch Highfill, Bob Holman, Anselm Hollo, Mikhail Horowitz, Fanny Howe, Susan Howe, Romana Huk, Franz Kamin, Robert Kelly, Richard Kostelanetz, Louise Landes Levi, Judith Malina, Chris Mann, Michael Meade, Joyce Carol Oates, Sharon Olds, Cheryl Pallant, Nick Piombino, Kristen Prevallet, India Radfar, Carter Ratcliff, Hanon Reznikov, Jerome Rothenberg, Sapphire, Leslie Scalapino, Ron Silliman, Charles Stein, David Levi Strauss, Kate Suddes, Chris Tysh, Cecilia Vicuña, Tenzin Wangyal, Barrett Watten, Henry Weinfield, Elizabeth Willis, Krzysztof Ziarek