Thursday, 04 January 2007 GV6: The Odyssey's scope is epic, packing 31 poets into 72 minutes of film. This is its greatest weakness but also, in a manner of speaking, its crowning achievement--framing an engrossing narrative despite such a large assemblage. That being said, there is no one subject whose appearance I could do without, but many times found myself wanting a poet to elaborate on their answers (Luis Campos, for example). To be fair, the extras included on the DVD do provide further context.

Bob Bryan make the quick cuts--necessitated by the vast ground that he has to cover--often work to his advantage. The frenzied pace offers images, for example, of Brendan Constantine and Jennifer Tseng juxtaposed--Constantine's boisterous enthusiasm for his subject serves to illuminate Tseng's careful, sometimes self-effacing answers. When asked about the nature of poetry, Constantine boisterously offers, "Poetry is life and its avoidance is death" while Tseng tenders her answer: "An internal world". And they are both absolutely correct.

Interviewed in often private spaces--Bob Bryan elicits candid, thought-provoking answers from his subjects touching on subjects from the personal to the public, the sacred to the profane, touching on elements of culture, family, love, language and self-perception, among others. The movie opens with the statement: "There is no one truth". Throughout the rest of the film, this statement is echoed in the answers from a plethora of representative poets, whose experiences resonate from varied ethnicities, cultures and ages (although, not necessarily geographies, as the majority appear to be operating out of Southern California). The diversity of his subjects, as Bryan is well aware, serves only to underline and strengthen their similarities: their love of language, and their need to express themselves.

One minor quibble though: what's with the censoring of words? I realize that this DVD, serving as a basis for beginning writers, is likely destined for the classroom but the censorship is intrusive and not necessary. In the course of the film, Jawanza Dumisani recounts the advice of one of his mentors, "Tell us what you want to tell us and just trust the language. Trust the language." If there's one thing this documentary makes an effort to understand, it's that, if a poets says fuck, they mean "fuck".

In answering the question "What is poetry?" performance poet Askew offers: "It's like taking a big shit." Truer words were never spoken, but their impact is diminished somewhat.

In the waning minutes of the film, South California poet FrancEye offers "Everybody is a poet. They just don't exercise that part of themselves." It appears to me that this is a statement Bryan wants his audience to take to the bank, but it's one that rings particularly hollow--at least to these ears. These poets are not everybody, they are special--by virtue of their genius, their insanity, their egos, their introspection, etc. Some would argue that poets enjoy a privileged and enviable position, having the opportunity to express themselves and contribute to the shaping of American culture in contrast to most individuals who are more or less forced into the passive position of consumer--payment for books or DVDs being their only contributions.

But this, of course, is not what Bryan is after. The film's message doesn't play out in the big questions, ie "What is poetry?" or "What is the nature of truth?" but in its multitudinous and divergent answers.

 Tuesday, 14 November 2006 I’ve been enjoying Jon Paul Fiorentino since his release of Transcona Fragments, a great collection about his youth in the suburban community of Transcona—a small railway town that has been stitched to the city of Winnipeg

His most recent work is a book of synaptic syntax entitled Hello Serotonin (Coach House Books, 2004). The metaphors contained herein purportedly reenact the nature of neural activity. Indeed, there are flashes of synaptic brilliance.

On the advice of Robert Kroetsch, Poetry MD, who writes that "Hello Serotonin is an exhilarating and magical potion. Take at night before going to bed", I took the recommended dosage of one copy of Hello Serotonin and further medicated myself with 3/5's of scotch. The problem with over the counter serotonin taken orally is that it does not pass into the pathways of the brain. This is due to the blood-brain barrier preventing serotonin in the blood stream from affecting serotonin levels in the brain.

However, these poems, in my non-clinical trials, solve this problem; they are capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier.

While the efficacy of these poems on depression may be called into question—the mode of action of these flashes of lyrical brilliance on their direct target is nonetheless powerful

I wholeheartedly recommend Fiorentino's prescription, and remind the reader that a nice 12 year old scotch won’t hurt, either. Check out Fiorentino's website. Complete with ordering information.