SDSU Documentary Brings Poetry to Life in San Diego

"Poetry Live(s)" to Air on KPBS Sunday, Feb. 4 at 10:30 p.m.

Contact:
Gina Speciale
San Diego State University
(619) 594-4563 office
speciale@mail.sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO (Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007)-- San Diego’s poetry scene comes to life in a new documentary “Poetry Live(s),” produced and directed by San Diego State University professor Mark Freeman. “Poetry Live(s)” will air on KPBS-TV at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 4.

“Poetry Live(s)” features eight local poets speaking their written words for the camera.

Mark Freeman, SDSU Professor

“Poetry today is not about ‘dead white men,’” said Freeman, associate professor of television film and new media in SDSU’s School of Theatre, Television and Film. “I'm excited by the energy and diversity of the poetry scene in San Diego, and I want to bring that to new audiences.”

The half-hour documentary was created with grants provided by the City of Encinitas and SDSU. Freeman, a documentary filmmaker for more than 25 years, originally filmed the documentary at La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas.

“The poetry slam at La Paloma is one of Encinitas’ most beloved events, and we are excited for the rest of San Diego to experience these moving performances in the unique way Mark is portraying them,” said James Gilliam, arts administrator for the City of Encinitas.

Michael Klam, Poet

For the documentary, Freeman took La Paloma poets out of the theatre and into the world which inspires them, he said. One of the poets featured in the film is Michael Klam, a fourth grade teacher in City Heights.

“We filmed (Klam) on a playground and in his classroom,” Freeman said. “He best summed up the poet’s charge for each of us: to become adventurers through our day, and see in every moment something new, something bright, something challenging, something to make us think and to live a little better.”

“Poetry is not dead on the page,” Freeman said. “It's alive in the words of poets – young and old, male and female, black and white. It's in the streets, in our bedrooms and in our lives. For viewers, I hope this film will spark them to see the poetry in their own lives.”

As a public broadcast service of San Diego State University, KPBS plays an important role in supporting the work of independent filmmakers. “Poetry Live(s)” is Freeman’s third documentary to air on the station. His previous documentaries include: “Families and Flowers”, about family growers in Encinitas; and “Talking Peace,” a portrait of a Jewish-Palestinian dialogue group in San Diego.

minerva, Poet featured in "Poetry Live(s)"

Freeman's documentaries have won numerous awards including a Gold Apple at the National Educational Film and Video Festival, a Certificate of Merit at the Chicago International Film Festival and a Red Ribbon at the American Film and Video Festival. His films are in libraries and universities throughout the country, and have been screened at museums including the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of Natural History, the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

SDSU’s Television and Film and New Media Program provides its students with the theoretical and applied experiences in television and film that promote the discipline's excellence, with the capacity to attain career success and with a sense of civic responsibility.

The School of Theatre, Television, and Film provides quality education on the undergraduate and graduate levels for students seeking careers in all areas of live theatre and the moving arts; to support the University's central mission to educate the whole person in the liberal arts tradition; and to foster academic and creative interaction between established and emerging artists on campus and off.

San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelors degrees in 81 areas, masters degrees in 73 areas and doctorates in 16 areas. SDSUs more than 34,000 students participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.

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