"B" Videos

Lannan Video Catalogue

An asterisk (*) following the name of the author indicates that the artist is also featured in the video Where Poems Come From, filed under the letter "W."

Baraka, Amiri (1991)

        Author:                                   Amiri Baraka
        Interviewer:                            Lewis MacAdams
        Producers and Directors:    Lewis MacAdams and John Dorr    Metropolitan Pictures and EZTV
        Running time:                        60 minutes

From the video jacket: "Amiri Baraka, born Leroi Jones in Newark, New Jersey, in 1934, is a poet, playwright, novelist, and essayist who has written about music, politics, and culture. He is also a political activist who was instrumental in establishing the Congress of African People. Mr. Baraka read from Boptrees and unpublished work in this performance, which took place in Los Angeles on February 11, 1991. Amiri Baraka was interviewed by poet Lewis MacAdams."

Berry, Wendell (1991) (cross-listed under "Snyder, Gary"--see "S" video holdings)

        Authors:                                 Wendell Berry and Gary Snyder
        Interviewer:                           Jack Shoemaker
        Director:                                Thunder Road Productions
        Running time:                         1 hour 29 minutes

From the video jacket:

"Wendell Berry , a poet, essayist, and novelist, has been called the 'prophet of rural America.' Mr. Berry, who pursues what he calls 'an ethic and way of life based upon devotion to a place and devotion to a land,' lives and works on his farm in Port Royal, Kentucky. He has published more than 30 books, including The Wheel, Sabbaths, and Openings (poetry); The Wild Birds, Watch With Me, and Remembering (fiction); and Another Turn of the Crank, What Are People For?, and The Unsettling of American (nonfiction). Mr. Berry, who received a Lannan Literary Award for Nonfiction in 1989, read on November 10, 1999."

"Gary Snyder is the author of nine books of poetry, including Mountains and Rivers Without End, No Nature, and Left Out in the Rain. His prose works include A Place in Space, The Practice of the Wild, and Earth House Hold. Mr. Snyder's work reflects his study of Eastern literature and culture, his commitment to the environment, and his concepts of humanity's place in the cosmos. Born in San Francisco, Mr. Snyder lived in Japan for fourteen years, studying Zen Buddhism. He lives in Northern California and teaches at the University of California at Davis. He read on November 10, 1999."

"Jack Shoemaker is editor-in-chief of Counterpoint Press in Washington, D.C."

Berssenbrugge, Mei-mei (2001)

        Author:                                  Mei-mei Berssenbrugge
        Interviewer:                          Arthur Sze
        Director:                               Thunder Road Productions
        Running time:                       1 hour 12 minutes

From the video jacket:

"Mei-mei Berssenbrugge was born in Peking, China, in 1947, and grew up in Massachusetts. She is the author of ten collections of poetry, including Fish Souls, Summits Move with the Tide, Random Possessions, Sphericity, and The Four Year Old Girl. Ms. Berssenbrugge has also written two plays, One, Two Cups and Kindness, with artist Richard Tuttle. Her work has been described as 'spiritual exercises in physical form.' Ms. Berssenbrugge has received fellowships from the NEA and two American Book Awards from the Before Columbus Foundation. She read on April 1, 1999."

"Arthur Sze has published six collections of poetry, including The Redshifting Web, Archipelago, and River, River. Mr. Sze, who teaches at the Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, received a 1995 Lannan Literary Award for Poetry."

Boland, Eavan (1994)

        Author:                                  Eavan Boland
        Interviewer:                           Eloise Klein Healy
        Director:                               Dan Griggs/Media Revolution
        Running time:                       60 minutes

From the video jacket:

"Eavan Boland, one of the major Irish poets of her generation, is the author of more than nine books of poetry. In her work, she explores the relationship between gender, art, and national identity. Eavan Boland read from In a Time of Violence and Outside History on November 16, 1994, in Los Angeles.

"Eloise Klein Healy's books of poetry include Artemis in Echo Park and Ordinary Wisdom. She teaches at Antioch University in Los Angeles."

Boyle, Kay (1989)

        Author:                                    Kay Boyle
        Interviewer:                            Shawn Wong
        Producers and Directors     Lewis MacAdams and John Dorr Metropolitan Pictures and EZTV
        Running time:                        60 minutes

From the video jacket: "Kay Boyle (1902-1992), who published more than 30 books of fiction, criticism, and poetry in her lifetime, was an eloquent advocate for human rights in her work and life. This program documents her final public reading. Kay Boyle read from This Is Not a Letter and Other Poems and Testament for My Students in Los Angeles on September 11, 1989, and was interviewed by novelist Shawn Wong."

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