A selection of recent poetry films.
The poem ‘Children’ was first published in 1990 when it was written for a volume of poems, Thistledown, produced in aid of UNICEF by the Dedalus Press. Since then ‘Children’ has had a number of incarnations in anthologies and other publications.
This new film version, with accompanying music by the author, is something of an experiment, a departure from the realism of some of his more recent films — part of a continuing stylistic exploration but also a response to the sensitive issue of how to portray children in film, especially online.
Christmas is not an easy time for many, particularly those feeling the absence of loved ones. This version of Jingle Bells is for them
Out of the Blue is a poetry film by Irish poet Pat Boran, shot in Baldoyle, Sutton and Howth, Co. Dublin, during Spring/Summer 2022. It remembers all those who, for various reasons and over many centuries, have come to make new lives in this part of Ireland, and whose names and influences are everywhere to be found.
Despite the fears in some communities, immigration brings many benefits to society, introducing new energy, new talent, and new perspectives, and adding to our shared understanding of the world and what it means to be human. This short film takes its title from an observation made by one of the filmmaker’s friends, an observation that now seems to describe an essential truth of trade and of world history: Immigrants Open Shops.
Irish poet Pat Boran’s poetry film, A Man is Only as Good, is based on the title poem of his 2017 Pocket Selected Poems (Orange Crate Books/distributed by Dedalus Press).
The ability of lovers to find each other in the world, and, even in hard times, to make the world bearable for each other, is something to celebrate. The Inverse Wave is a film about sound recording, noise cancellation – oh yes, and love. Poem, film and music by Pat Boran.