• Pamela

    A “Rap” Poem in 1936?

    Richard Blanco’s inaugural poem “One Today” is a wonderful example of the power of words to paint pictures, stir emotion, unite hearts, and make the ordinary extraordinary. It’s also incredibly filmic, with suggestions of close-ups, wide shots, high-angle views, and motion. If you read the poem, I think you will see what I mean.  You might even want to pick up a camera and try taking pictures of some of the shots. It reminded me of another poem, “Night Mail,” by W H Auden, which he wrote specifically for a remarkable documentary film by the same title, directed in 1936 by John Grierson (a pioneering Scottish documentary filmmaker). This is…