BBC Poetry Season

The BBC's Poetry Season is in full swing. Documentaries such as Why Poetry Matters, featuring key talent Griff Rhys Jones, will expose to the public en masse the reasons why Poetry Matters, why we should Read Poetry and why Poetry Is Not Dead. You can also vote for your favourite poet of all-time, an inexplicable list. I'm trying not to be too cynical about the whole shebang - at least they're trying, but it seems like they're trying with their ring fingers when the rest of their fist is pressed against the table. One documentary I am looking forward to is Armando Iannucci on John Milton, mainly because I dig Milton and Iannucci. Still, it's all very conservative and a wasted opportunity - the Beeb does this stuff on Radio 4 every week anyway, if they're going to devote a whole season to poetry they should be as wide-ranging as possible. The offerings on show are a narrow segment of what poetry is and what it could become.

Comments

[James]

Here Here.

The Hislop documentary demeaned poetry as a whole. He mocked Austin but not Motion; thought he was meant to have balls.

[Tom]

""True say""

the programme on George Mackay Brown was quite good though

[John Le Brocq]

Hope you don't mind, but I'd like to offer my short film contribution... an adaptation of John Donne's poem 'Woman's Constancy'
I should add that this isn't necessarily safe for work or younger viewers.
Best wishes
John Le Brocq
http://www.vimeo.com/2153206