Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation website launches
In concurrence with National Poetry Month, we're delighted to launch the new Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation website, dedicated to bringing the tradition of universal poetry to people everywhere.
The Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation aims to expand access to poetry and poetic resources, gathering outstanding poems from across places, eras, and traditions for audiences worldwide to discover. In partnership with celebrated poetry institutions including Poetry Ireland, Poet in the City UK, 92nd Street Y, and the Academy of American Poets, we transpose great poems from page to film, creating new avenues into the experience of poetry.
Mahogany L. Browne reads "Black Girl Magic"
Liz Berry reads "The Republic of Motherhood"
The first set of films from our "Read By" series includes readings of poems by U.S. and UK poets Liz Berry, Mahogany L. Browne, Tyehimba Jess, Theresa Lola, and Andrew McMillan. Acclaimed actors and readers also perform their own favorite poems: Paapa Essiedu reads Kayo Chingonyi, Peter Halstead reads W. H. Auden, Aaron Monaghan reads Seamus Heaney and William Shakespeare, and Juliet Stevenson reads Emily Dickinson.
The Read By series is directed by Irish filmmaker and photographer Matthew Thompson. Forthcoming films will feature poets Martina Evans, Tom French, Denice Frohman, Hannah Lowe, Selina Nwulu, and Camille Rankine, plus actors including Simon Callow, Marian Richardson, Joseph Aldous, Catherine Dryden, Jensen Grey, Bobby Hirston, Eleanor Methven, and Sofia Oxenham—with many more to come.
Juliet Stevenson reads Emily Dickinson's "'Hope' is the thing with feathers"
Paapa Essiedu reads Kayo Chingonyi's "Kumukanda"
Our growing archive of text poems also launches today, with text versions of each filmed poem, as well as a collection of exceptional poems by greats of the canon like John Donne, Emily Dickinson, and Phillis Wheatley, all the way up to celebrated contemporary poets Elizabeth Alexander, Jackie Kay, Ada Limón, Elise Paschen, and many others. We'll be adding regularly to this collection with work from established and emerging poets from around the world, so stay tuned.
We hope you'll enjoy exploring our newly launched site. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to be the first to see our latest offerings!