VISIT POETRYSPOTS.COM FOR MORE!

 Created by New York poet Bob Holman in 1987, Poetry Spots was a series of short poetry recitations committed to VHS tape and produced for WNYC-TV. The "non commercial-commercials" were built
around a poet performing a single poem in a location of personal or conceptual significance,
from tiny kitchens to Coney Island. Active until 1993, the series was the first of its kind and
introduced New Yorkers to a wealth of poets in their midst. As the idea of poetry films spread,
"Poetry Spots" would become a compendium of filmed poems from across the country.
The website is a comprehensive Poetry Spots archive drawn from Holman's digitized tapes.
Click here for a 2020 interview with the series creator about the project's history and legacy.

POETRY SPOTS: Allen Ginsberg reads “In My Kitchen In New York”

POETRY SPOTS: Amiri Baraka reads “We Are Here”

Among the poets included in Holman's "Poetry Spots" are John Ashberry, Eileen Myles, Allen Ginsberg, Patricia Smith, Amiri Baraka, Jessica Hagedorn, Ron Padgett, Edwin Torres, Jose Padua, Tracie Morris, Carl Watson, and Pedro Pietri.

Available on Holman's channel are all 55 New York Emmy award winning " Poetry Spots," produced by Holman between 1987 and 1993 for New York's WNYC-TV. Foreshadowing the technique used in “The United States of Poetry,” each “Poetry Spot” is a short film built around a single poet's performance of a single poem.

POETRY SPOTS: Patricia Smith reads “Chinese Cucumbers”

POETRY SPOTS: John Ashbery reads “Purists Will Agree”

POETRY SPOTS: Jessica Hagedorn reads “Loft Living”