The Bloodaxe DVD-book In Person: 30 Poets includes films made by Pamela Robertson-Pearce of poets from around the world reading their work on two DVDs (with all the poems printed in the anthology: see the first video below for further details). We are continuing to film our poets for a growing archive which we hope to use in further DVD-books. The videos posted on this page include excerpts from all the films featured in In Person plus new films. These are linked to this website from Vimeo (where they can be seen in high definition). This page is updated with new videos every month.
Bloodaxe YouTube page: We have posted other videos of Bloodaxe poets (and videos relating to Bloodaxe) on YouTube, including some classic footage from the past. Click on this link to see the Bloodaxe YouTube archive: http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/articles.asp?id=34
A taster trailer for IN PERSON: 30 POETS filmed by Pamela Robertson-Pearce DVD-book edited by Neil Astley (Bloodaxe Books, May 2008)
30 poets from around the world read to you in person... This is a new concept in publishing: your own personal poetry festival brought into your home. This trailer features 5 poems by 5 of the poets: Benjamin Zephaniah, Imtiaz Dharker, Brendan Kennelly, Jackie Kay and C.K. Williams. There are 30 poets in the DVD-book (plus Ken Smith bonus track). All the poems read are in the anthology. The filmed readings last a total of 6 hours, and can be played on 2 DVDs pouched inside the back cover. This publication of the world's first poetry DVD-book marked Bloodaxe's 30th birthday in 2008. See http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248009
IDENTITY PARADE
This video presents a line-up of ten poets reading from Roddy Lumsden's anthology Identity Parade: New British & Irish Poets at its launch event in Foyles Bookshop in London: Matthew Caley ('For Howard Devoto'), John Stammers ('Black Dog'), Siobhán Campbell ('Almost in Sight'), Claire Crowther ('Lost Child'), Andy Brown ('A Poem of Gifts'), Catherine Smith ('The Fathers'), Clare Pollard ('The Panther'), Chris McCabe ('Poem in Black Ink'), Katherine Pierpoint ('Burning the Door') and Tim Wells ('Comin' a Dance'). For more details of Identity Parade go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248394
FLEUR ADCOCK
Fleur Adcock reads two poems, 'Weathering' and 'Things', from her Poems 1960-2000 (Bloodaxe Books, 2000). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Fleur Adcock's Poems 1960-2000 go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852245301
JOHN AGARD
John Agard performs his 'Alternative Anthem' with the audience at London's Soho Theatre. 'Alternative Anthem' is also the title poem of Alternative Anthem: Selected Poems (2009), a new DVD-book featuring Agard's performances at two different venues (see next video below). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of John Agard's Alternative Anthem go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248238
JOHN AGARD WITH KEITH WAITHE
A second excerpt from the Alternative Anthem DVD-book (2009). John Agard and fellow Guyanan Keith Waithe perform 'Flute Boy', a piece specially written by Agard for his flute maestro friend. Then Waithe accompanies Agard's performance of his poem 'Marriage of Opposites'. Finally, the third poem in this excerpt is Agard's much celebrated 'Half-caste', now on the syllabus in many English schools. This live performance by Agard and Waithe was filmed at Havant Arts Centre in 2008. For more details of John Agard's Alternative Anthem go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248238
ELIZABETH ALEXANDER
Barack Obama's inaugural poet Elizabeth Alexander reads two poems in the Jerwood Centre at Dove Cottage: 'Ars Poetica #92: Marcus Garvey on Elocution' and 'Ars Poetica #100: I Believe' from American Blue: Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2006). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Elizabeth Alexander's American Blue (and to see her reading her inaugural poem for President Obama), go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247304
SARAH ARVIO
Sarah Arvio reads three poems from Sono ('Colosseum', 'Bomb' and 'Acrolith') followed by two poems from Visits from the Seventh ('Floating' and 'Ellipses'), from her Bloodaxe two-book selection Sono, with Visits from the Seventh (Bloodaxe Books, 2009). This film by Pamela Robertson-Pearce was made in New York City in September 2008. For more details of Sarah Arvio's Sono, with Visits from the Seventh, go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248440
PAUL BATCHELOR
Paul Batchelor reads six poems from his first collection The Sinking Road (Bloodaxe Books, 2008) at the launch event held by the Wordsworth Trust in their Dove Cottage series of readings in June 2008 (also featuring Frances Leviston and Kathryn Simmonds). The poems are: 'Artemis', 'Keening' (for Barry MacSweeney), 'Secret Papers', 'Honesty', 'Suibne in the Trees' (from the sequence 'Suibne Changed'), and 'Finding', a five-part poem written for his grandfather recalling the time during the 1930s when he worked in Kielder Forest in Northumberland. For more details of Paul Batchelor's The Sinking Road go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248076
JAMES BERRY
James Berry reads his poem 'Englan Voice' from Windrush Songs (Bloodaxe Books, 2007). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of James Berry's Windrush Songs go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247703
MATTHEW CALEY
Matthew Caley reads his poem 'For Howard Devoto' from his new Bloodaxe collection Apparently. This video is from the launch reading of Identity Parade, Roddy Lumsden's anthology of new British and Irish poets, at Foyles Bookshop, London. For more details of Matthew Caley's Apparently go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248637
STEWART CONN
Stewart Conn introduces and reads his poem 'The Breakfast Room', his response to Pierre Bonnard's painting, and in particular to the figure of the artist's wife Marthe at the very edge of the picture. The poem is the title-poem of Stewart Conn's latest Bloodaxe collection The Breakfast Room, and is in three parts: the first in the voice of the poet, the second by Marthe and the third by Bonnard himself. For more details of Stewart Conn's The Breakfast Room go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248564
DAVID CONSTANTINE
David Constantine reads his poem 'Watching for Dolphins' from Collected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2004). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of David Constantine's Collected Poems go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852246677
IMTIAZ DHARKER
Imtiaz Dharker reads two poems, 'Blessing' from Postcards from god (Bloodaxe Books, 1997) and 'They'll say, "She must be from another country"' from I Speak for the Devil (Bloodaxe Books, 2001). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Imtiaz Dharker's Postcards from god go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852244070
Katie Donovan reads three poems from Rootling: New & Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2010): 'Yearn On', 'Stitching' and 'Rootling', filmed by Pamela Robertson-Pearce in Dalkey, Co. Dublin in June 2009. This footage is part of a longer film of Katie Donovan to be included in a future DVD-anthology from Bloodaxe Books. For more details of Katie Donovan's Rootling go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248815
MAURA DOOLEY
Maura Dooley reads two poems, 'What Every Woman Should Carry' from Sound Barrier: Poems 1982-2002 (Bloodaxe Books, 2002) and 'The Elevator' from Life Under Water (Bloodaxe Books, 2008). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Maura Dooley's Sound Barrier go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852245786
Helen Dunmore reads two poems, 'Wild strawberries' from Out of the Blue: Poems 1975-2001 (Bloodaxe Books, 2001) and 'Glad of these times' from Glad of These Times (Bloodaxe Books, 2007). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Helen Dunmore's Out of the Blue go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=185224576X
Menna Elfyn reads her poem 'Handkerchief Kiss' / 'Cusan Hances' in English and Welsh from Perffaith Nam / Perfect Blemish: New & Selected Poems 1995-2007 (Bloodaxe Books, 2007). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Menna Elfyn's Perffaith Naith go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247797
SYLVA FISCHEROVÁ
Czech poet Sylva Fischerová reads three poems from The Swing in the Middle of Chaos (Houpacka v hlubinách chaosu) – each poem first in English and then in Czech. The poems are 'Hell, The Soul, Banners', 'The Epigones of Time' and 'Time'. Neil Astley filmed Fischerová in Dublin in March 2010 when she was visiting Dún Laoghaire to read in the DLR Poetry Now Festival. The translations are by Sylva Fischerová and Stuart Friebert. For more details of Sylva Fischerová's The Swing in the Middle of Chaos go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248599
DEBORAH GARRISON
Deborah Garrison reads four New York poems from The Second Child (Bloodaxe Books, 2008): 'Goodbye, New York', 'I Saw You Walking', 'September Poem' and 'Into the Lincoln Tunnel', filmed by Pamela Robertson-Pearce in New York in September 2008. This footage is part of a longer film of Deborah Garrison to be included in a future DVD-anthology from Bloodaxe Books. For more details of Deborah Garrison's The Second Child go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247983
PHILIP GROSS
Philip Gross reads two poems from his T.S. Eliot Prize-shortlisted collection The Water Table (Bloodaxe Books, 2009): 'Sluice Angel' and 'Atlantis World', filmed by Pamela Robertson-Pearce in Penarth in July 2009. This footage is part of a longer film of Philip Gross to be included in a future DVD-anthology from Bloodaxe Books. For more details of Philip Gross's The Water Table go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248521
JEN HADFIELD
Jen Hadfield won the 2008 T.S. Eliot Prize with her second collection, Nigh-No-Place, and at 30 was the youngest poet ever to win Britain's top poetry prize. Here she reads four poems from the book, beginning with the title-poem 'Nigh-No-Place', followed by 'In the same way', 'Daed-traa', and then 'Paternoster', the Lord’s Prayer uttered by a draught-horse. The film shows excerpts from her Wordsworth Trust reading St Oswald's Church, Grasmere, Cumbria, on 30 June 2009. For more details of Jen Hadfield's Nigh-No-Place go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247932
KEVIN HART
Kevin Hart reads three poems, 'The Room', 'Dark Angel' and 'Brisbane', from Flame Tree: Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2002) and then five poems from his new collection Young Rain (Bloodaxe Books, 2009): 'My Name', 'That Life', 'Yes, 'Prayer' and 'The Great Truths'. This film was made in October 2007 during the Poetry & Philosophy Conference at Warwick University. For more details of Kevin Hart's Flame Tree go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=185224545X
W.N. Herbert reads two poems, 'Song of the Longboat Boys' from The Big Bumper Book of Troy (Bloodaxe Books, 2002) and 'To a Mousse' from The Laurelude (Bloodaxe Books, 1998). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of W.N. Herbert's The Big Bumper Book of Troy go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852246030
Selima Hill reads her poem 'Cow' from Gloria: Selected Poems, published by Bloodaxe in June 2008 at the same time as her new collection The Hat. This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Selima Hill's Gloria go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=185224805X
ELLEN HINSEY
Ellen Hinsey reads four poems from Update on the Descent (Bloodaxe Books, 2009). This film by Pamela Robertson-Pearce was made at the Jerwood Centre next to Dove Cottage in April 2009 when Ellen Hinsey was giving a reading for the Wordsworth Trust to launch her latest collection. The poems she reads in this video are 'Transcript', 'A Concise Biography of Tyranny', 'Update on the Last Judgement' and 'Interdiction'. For more details of Ellen Hinsey's Update on the Descent, go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248335
JANE HIRSHFIELD
American poet Jane Hirshfield reads two poems, 'Tree' from Each Happiness Ringed by Lions: Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2005) and 'Burlap Sack' from After (HarperCollins, USA/Bloodaxe Books, UK, 2006). 'Tree' first appeared in her US edition Given Sugar, Given Salt (HarperCollins, 2001). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Jane Hirshfield's Each Happiness Ringed by Lions go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852246936 and for more details of After go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=185224741X
HELEN IVORY
Helen Ivory reads a set of nine poems: 'Learning to Talk', 'Alchemy', The Disappearing' and 'Missing You Spell' from her second collection The Dog in the Sky (2006), and 'Magicians', 'Bedtime Story', 'Sleep' and 'The Beginning' from The Breakfast Machine (2010). For more details of Helen Ivory's The Dog in the Sky go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247177 and for more details of The Breakfast Machine go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248734
JABBERLEDBURY
Jabberledbury presents Lewis Carroll's poem 'Jabberwocky' read by 28 poets taking part in the Ledbury Poetry Festival 2009. Seven (or more) poets read a verse each in the first four "takes", followed by a composite version with 28 poets all reading a line each, and then John Hartley Williams's solo performance of the whole poem. Taking part are (in order of appearance): Marcus Moore & Sara-Jane Arbury; (1) Roger McGough, Sara-Jane Arbury, B. Catling, Fred D'Aguiar, August Kleinzahler, John Hartley Willliams & Ruth Padel; (2) Alice Oswald, Peter Oswald, Eva Salzman, Chase Twichell, Susan Wicks, Stephen Romer & Michael Horovitz; (3) Daljit Nagra, Phillis Levin, Paul Batchelor, Frances Leviston, Kathryn Simmonds, Glyn Maxwell, Ben Okri & Marcus Moore; and (4) Patience Agbabi, Adam Foulds, Philip Wells, Paul Farley, Vona Groarke, Rhian Edwards, Hugo Williams & Benjamin Zephaniah.
JACKIE KAY
Jackie Kay reads three poems, 'In My Country', 'Somebody Else' and 'Darling', from Darling: New & Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2007). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Jackie Kay's Darling go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247770
BRENDAN KENNELLY
Brendan Kennelly reads five poems, 'Love Cry', 'I See You Dancing, Father', 'Bread', 'Raglan Lane' and 'Begin', from Familiar Strangers: New & Selected Poems 1960-2004 (Bloodaxe Books, 2004). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Brendan Kennelly's Familiar Strangers go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852246634
BRENDAN KENNELLY: RESERVOIR VOICES
Brendan Kennelly talks about his new collection Reservoir Voices and reads four poems from it, 'Hope', 'Lie', 'Proposal' and 'Peace', plus his classic 'Begin' at the end. This is an excerpt from a film made by Pamela Robertson-Pearce of Kennelly's reading at the Abbey Theatre in the Dublin Writers' Festival on 7 June 2009. For more details of Brendan Kennelly's Reservoir Voices go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=185224836X
GALWAY KINNELL
Galway Kinnell reads two poems, 'Saint Francis and the Sow' from Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2001) and 'Everyone Was in Love' from Strong Is Your Hold (Bloodaxe Books, 2007). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Galway Kinnell's Selected Poems go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852245417
American poet Philip Levine reads his poem 'Starlight', from his Stranger to Nothing: Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2006). The film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). This poem first appeared in his US editions Ashes (Atheneum, 1979) and New Selected Poems (Alfred A. Knopf, 1991). For more details of Philip Levine's Stranger to Nothing go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247371
PHILIP LEVINE ON LOWELL AND BERRYMAN
Philip Levine in conversation with Naomi Jaffa at Aldeburgh Poetry Festival in November 2009. In this excerpt from their discussion, Levine talks about being taught first by Robert Lowell and then by John Berryman at the University of Iowa, where his classmates included Donald Justice, W.D. Snodgrass and Henri Coulette. Levine says a lot more about having Berryman and Yvor Winters as mentors in his memoir The Bread of Time (1994/2002). His poetry is published in Britain by Bloodaxe Books in Stranger to Nothing: http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247371
GWYNETH LEWIS
Gwyneth Lewis reads two poems from Chaotic Angels: Poems in English (Bloodaxe Books, 2005), 'Welsh Espionage' [5] and 'Mother Tongue'. This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Gwyneth Lewis's Chaotic Angels go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247231
RODDY LUMSDEN
Roddy Lumsden reads six poems from his new collection Third Wish Wasted (Bloodaxe Books, 2009) at the book's launch at StAnza, Scotland's international poetry festival, in St Andrews: 'Against Complaint', 'The Beautiful', 'Sammy's Noodle House & Grill', 'Tandem', 'Ludlow' and 'Quietus'. For more details of Roddy Lumsden's Third Wish Wasted go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248289
JOAN MARGARIT
Joan Margarit talks about his poem 'The eyes in the rear-view mirror' with his translator Anna Crowe, before she reads her English translation and he reads the original poem in Catalan. This poem is from his Tugs in the Fog: Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2006). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Joan Margarit's Tugs in the Fog go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247517
SAMUEL MENASHE
This video is an excerpt from Life is IMMENSE: visiting Samuel Menashe, a film by Pamela Robertson-Pearce. This features a visit to Menashe (with Neil Astley) in the tiny New York apartment where he has lived since the 1950s. Now aged 83, Menashe still knows all his poems by heart, and between engaging digressions on poetry, life and death, he recites numerous examples with engaging humour, warmth and zest. The poems included in this clip are 'Daily Bread', 'Family Silver', 'Night Music (pizzicato)', 'Improvidence' (now suddenly a highly topical poem!) and 'Voyage'. The film is issued on DVD with Samuel Menashe's New & Selected Poems http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248408
ADRIAN MITCHELL
Adrian Mitchell reads what he calls the 21st-century remix of his famous protest poem 'To Whom It May Concern (Tell me lies about Vietnam)', from his Tell Me Lies: Poems 2005-2009 (Bloodaxe Books, 2009). The film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). He first read this poem at an anti-Vietnam War protest in Trafalgar Square in 1964, and keeps changing the last verse. For more details of Adrian Mitchell's Tell Me Lies go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248432
ADRIAN MITCHELL (1932-2008)
A tribute video with three more poems from the In Person set. First 'Telephone', a short poem written by Adrian on hearing of the death of his and Celia's beloved adopted goddaughter, Boty Goodwin. Then 'Especially When It Snows', his elegy for Boty. And finally 'Death Is Smaller Than I Thought', a poem on the deaths of his mother and father, a new poem from what will now sadly be his final book, Tell Me Lies. For more details of Adrian Mitchell's Tell Me Lies go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248432
TAHA MUHAMMAD ALI
Palestinian poet Taha Muhammad Ali reads his poem 'Abd el-Hadi Fights a Superpower' in Arabic and then Peter Cole reads his English translation, from Taha Muhammad Ali's bilingual edition So What: New & Selected Poems 1971-2005 (Copper Canyon Press, USA, 2006; Bloodaxe Books, UK, 2007). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Taha Muhammad Ali'sSo What go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247924
GRACE NICHOLS: I Have Crossed an Ocean
Grace Nichols reads two of her best-known poems, 'Hurricane Hits England' (included on the GCSE English syllabus) and a poem for children (and cats), 'Cat-Rap', from I Have Crossed an Ocean: Selected Poems. This is an excerpt from a film made by Pamela Robertson-Pearce of Grace Nichols' reading Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts in 2009. For more details of Grace Nichols' I Have Crossed an Ocean go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248580
GRACE NICHOLS: Picasso, I Want My Face Back
Grace Nichols reads extracts from 'Weeping Woman', her long poem in the voice of Dora Maar, who as Picasso's muse and mistress, was the inspiration for his iconic painting, 'Weeping Woman' (1937), included in her latest collection, Picasso, I Want My Face Back. This is an excerpt from a film made by Pamela Robertson-Pearce of Kennelly's reading at the Abbey Theatre in the Dublin Writers' Festival on 7 June 2009. For more details of Grace Nichols' Picasso, I Want My Face Back go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248505
NAOMI SHIHAB NYE
Arab American poet Naomi Shihab Nye reads two poems from her Tender Spot: Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2008). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). These two poems first appeared in her US edition Words Under the Words: Selected Poems (Far Corner Books, 1994). For more details of Naomi Shihab Nye's Tender Spot go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247916
MICHEAL O'SIADHAIL
Micheal O'Siadhail reads two poems, 'Between' and 'Transit', from his Poems 1975-1995 (Bloodaxe Books, 1999). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Micheal O'Siadhail's Poems 1975-1995 go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=185224495X
LEANNE O'SULLIVAN
Leanne O'Sullivan reads one poem from her debut collection Waiting for My Clothes, 'The Cord', followed by five poems from her second collection Cailleach: The Hag of Beara: 'Sister', 'Lost', 'Rapture', 'The Dancing Rooms' and 'The Return'. The film shows excerpts from her reading at the Project Arts Centre in the Dublin Writers' Festival on 6 June 2009. For more details of Leanne O'Sullivan's Cailleach go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248181
PASSIONFOOD: THREE POEMS ABOUT LOVE
Helen Dunmore reads 'Wild strawberries', Selima Hill reads 'Desire's a Desire' and Jackie Kay reads 'Late Love', three of a hundred poems included in Neil Astley anthology Passionfood: 100 Love Poems: see http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247274 This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above).
PETER READING
Peter Reading reads extracts from two book-length sequences, 'Going On' and 'Evagatory' from his Collected Poems: 2 [1985-1996] (Bloodaxe Books, 1996). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Peter Reading's Collected Poems: 2 go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852243570
PENELOPE SHUTTLE
Penelope Shuttle reads her long poem 'Missing You' from her book Redgrove's Wife (Bloodaxe Books, 2006). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Penelope Shuttle's Redgrove's Wife go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247347
KEN SMITH
Ivor Bowen's film of Ken Smith reading 'Three docklands fragments', from his book Shed: Poems 1980-2001 (Bloodaxe Books, 2002). Ivor Bowen's film is a "bonus track" at the end of In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Ken Smith's Shed go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852245719
ANNE STEVENSON
Anne Stevenson reads two poems, 'Poem for a Daughter' and 'A Marriage', from her book Poems 1955-2005 (Bloodaxe Books, 2005). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Anne Stevenson's Poems 1955-2005 go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852246995
RUTH STONE
Ruth Stone is a true American original. Now aged 93, she is still writing poetry of extraordinary variety and radiance. Pamela Robertson-Pearce filmed her in Vermont in September 2008. Ruth is almost blind but knows many of her poems by heart, and recites (or sings) several poems in this short film (prompted occasionally by editor Neil Astley) from her retrospective What Loves Comes To: New & Selected Poems: 'In an Iridescent Time', 'Orchard', 'The Talking Fish', 'The Excuse', 'Advice', 'I Have Three Daughters' (which she sings), 'Metamorphosis', 'Bargain, 'Mantra' and 'The Season'. For more details of Ruth Stone's What Loves Comes To go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248416
GEORGE SZIRTES
George Szirtes reads two extracts from his long poem-sequence 'Metro' from his New & Collected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2008). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of George Szirtes's New & Collected Poems go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248130
CHASE TWICHELL
Chase Twichell reads her poem 'Savin Rock', which recalls and questions her memory of being 'the girl who was eventually returned to her family unharmed'. Pamela Robertson-Pearce filmed Chase Twichell reading a selection of her poems at her home in the Keene Valley in the Adirondacks in September 2009. For more details of Chase Twichell's Horses Where the Answers Should Have Been: New & Selected Poem, go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=185224867X
VOICE RECOGNITION: JAY BERNARD
Jay Bernard is one of 21 poets included in the new Bloodaxe anthology of young poets, Voice Recognition (ed. James Byrne & Clare Pollard, published in September 2009). Here she reads at StAnza, Scotland's international poetry festival, in St Andrews, in March 2009. For more details of Voice Recognition go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248386
VOICE RECOGNITION: EMILY BERRY
Emily Berry is one of 21 poets included in the new Bloodaxe anthology of young poets, Voice Recognition (ed. James Byrne & Clare Pollard, published in September 2009). Here she reads at StAnza, Scotland's international poetry festival, in St Andrews, in March 2009. For more details of Voice Recognition go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248386
VOICE RECOGNITION: ADAM O'RIORDAN
Adam O'Riordan is one of 21 poets included in the new Bloodaxe anthology of young poets, Voice Recognition (ed. James Byrne & Clare Pollard, published in September 2009). Here he reads at StAnza, Scotland's international poetry festival, in St Andrews, in March 2009. For more details of Voice Recognition go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248386
FRED VOSS
Fred Voss doesn’t just write about factory life, he lives it. For the past 30 years he has worked as a machinist in various factories in California, transmuting his experiences into three books of poetry published by Bloodaxe. The backdrop of much of his work is the Goodstone Aircraft Company, an oily amalgam of all the places where he has sweated it out on the shopfloor, where each man has to be a virtuoso able to temper brute force with hair’s-breadth delicacy. Pamela Robertson-Pearce filmed him during his visit to Ledbury Poetry Festival in July 2008. He reads and introduces four poems: 'Making America Strong' from Carnegie Hall with Tin Walls (1998), and 'Hammers and Hearts of the Gods', 'Blood and Poetry' and 'Teatime at the OK Corral' from Hammers and Hearts of the Gods (2009). For more details, go to: http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852248467
C.K. WILLIAMS
American poet C.K. Williams reads his poem 'The Singing', from his Collected Poems (Bloodaxe Books/Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2006). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of C.K. Williams's Collected Poems go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247533
C.D. WRIGHT
C.D. Wright reads her poem 'Our Dust' from Like Something Flying Backwards: New & Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2007). C.D. Wright was born and brought up in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of C.D. Wright's Like Something Flying Backwards go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247622
YANG LIAN
Chinese poet Yang Lian talks about his book Concentric Circles in English, and then reads the first part of the first poem in Chinese. The English translation of Concentric Circles by Brian Holton and Agnes Hung-Chong Chan was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2005. This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Yang Lian's Concentric Circles go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852247037
BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH
Benjamin Zephaniah reads his poem 'To Do Wid Me', from his collection Too Black Too Strong (Bloodaxe Books, 2001). This film is from In Person: 30 Poets (see first video above). For more details of Benjamin Zephaniah's Too Black Too Strong go to http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852245549
