Videos
So many different ways to experience poetry: animated or set to music, interviews with poets, performances of spoken work poetry, events that were filmed and so much more. Great way to enjoy the musicality of the poems, and get to know the voices of contemporary poets. I’ve linked to videos and curated playlists.
Featured Videos
Poet Amanda Gorman, 22, will read at President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration Wednesday.
This video is of her performing her poem Earthrise.
Amanda Gorman reading her poem Fury and Faith
Gorman, all of 22, became the youth poet laureate of Los Angeles at age 16 in 2014 and the first national youth poet laureate three years later.
Featured Video Playlist
Spot of Poetry Playlist: Poems Read Out Loud
I’ve created this curated playlist on Youtube with a selection of beautiful poems read out loud. Some are animations, some feature celebrities and some the poets themselves.
More Vibrant Videos
David Whyte & Emergence Magazine: Blessings
Encountering David Whyte’s poetry is an experience rather than a reading. In this short film, Emmy-winning filmmaker Andrew Hinton together with musician and composer Owen Ó Súilleabháin expand on the fullness of this encounter as they interpret David’s “Blessing” poems through a visual and musical journey across the Irish landscape.
Spot of Poetry Playlist: Conversations with Poets
A Youtube playlist of poets talking about their work, and their experiences of what poetry is, and what it works in us. Ada Limón, Jane Hirshfield, Marie Howe, Ocean Vuong … and the list keeps growing.
Billy Collins: TED Talk
Combining dry wit with artistic depth, Billy Collins shares a project in which several of his poems were turned into delightful animated films in a collaboration with Sundance Channel. Five of them are included in this wonderfully entertaining and moving talk – and don’t miss the hilarious final poem!
Ours Poetica: Youtube Channel
Making poetry personal, in the hands of people who love it. Videos of the text of poems as someone reads it. Produced in collaboration with The Poetry Foundation. Listen to poems read out loud while looking at the text of the poem. Beautiful and intimate – this channel includes a wonderfully diverse range of poems, poets & readers.
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If there are any brilliant resources you think would make a good addition to this list, please contact Spot of Poetry, and we can add it!