I am not a poetry fan. I don't really care to try and winkle out the meaning of a string of seemingly unrelated words and phrases. I know all poetry isn't like that. Some is very straightforward, but I typically don't care for that either. I guess I just prefer a narrative story in prose. I do consider this to be a shortcoming of mine, but I can't help myself.
Every once in a while, I will see or hear something that piques my interest in a poet. Usually it is a movie about the writer. I liked the movie Bright Star about John Keats, and Edge of Love (which was really less about Dylan Thomas than it was about the two women he loved). These movies were entertaining and interesting, but they were much more about the poet than the poetry.
The same cannot be said about Howl. In fact, this is truly a movie about a poem and the controversy its publication created. James Franco plays Allen Ginsberg and the film flashes between interviews with Ginsberg, portions of the obscenity trial, and a reading of the poem with animation. I've never seen anything like it.
Thanks for the recommendations. I have HOWL in my queue but I will look for Bright Star and Edge of Night. I love Dylan Thomas. I still remember sitting in my senior English class and Mrs. Scala playing a recording (I think it was a 33RPM.) of him reading his poetry. I just listen to a podcast book review of a poetry anthology. I will have to listen again and get the name of the book. It sounded really good. You might be surprised that you like poetry if you give it a try.
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