ENG 265: Modern American Poetry, Prof. Venkateswaran: Videos @ NCC

As a poet, translator, essayist, and literary critic, Ezra Pound had the most profound influence on twentieth century literature even though his politics and economic theories drew controversy.

In this episode, Whitman falls in love, explores war and assassination in his poetry, and becomes disillusioned by the Gilded Age that ensues. He recovers from a debilitating stroke to live out his days in Camden NJ, where he continues to write poetry. The episode includes powerful readings of some of Whitman’s most acclaimed poems, including "When Lilacs Last in the Doory’d Bloomed," "O Captain! My Captain!" "O Me! O Life!," "Prayer of Columbus," and "Goodbye My Fancy." This opening segment describes how Whitman worked full time at the Office of Indian Affairs and met Peter Doyle, his long-term partner. His family knew Whitman's partners. President Abraham Lincoln delivered his second Inaugural address; Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse.

Julie Harris takes viewers into Emily Dickinson’s everyday world in a small New England town to compare and contrast facts about the poet with her extraordinary, original insights.

Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker and renowned Langston Hughes biographer Arnold Rampersad talk about the “poet laureate of Harlem” with award-winning filmmaker Bruce Schwartz.

Videotaped shortly before his death, this interview gives an intimate overview of Ginsberg’s work and of the Beat literary movement. Ginsberg reads from three of his poems, including "Kaddish," his masterpiece, and tells of his friendship with Jack Kerouac.

This program traces Auden's life’s story and provides a sampling of his very best works, including “Musée des Beaux Arts,” “In Memory of W. B. Yeats,” “Epitaph on a Tyrant,” “Leap Before You Look,” and “The Shield of Achilles."

As a poet, T. S. Eliot did not just modernize, he revolutionized. As critic and publisher, he informed literary theory and promoted a generation of major young writers. This richly resourced program provides a concise biography of Eliot, tracing the key events of his life and highlighting his many contributions to English literature.

A sense of despair and futility reaches its peak in the work of WWI poet Wilfred Owen, perhaps the most tragic of the war poets. Siegfried Sassoon, another noted WWI poet, pens the poem "They."

Experts discuss William Carlos Williams' use of simple concepts presented in a plain way and his ability to write in an "American" language.

The Harvard-educated writer, who preferred to sign his name in all lowercase, is known for the eccentricity of the typography and punctuation he employed to reinforce the rhythm and meaning of words. His poems truly leap off the page when performed aloud. This program, which celebrated the beauty of the individual, is set in a re-creation of New York’s Greenwich Village, where e. e. cummings lived for nearly 40 years.