I want my P-TV

I just got back from seeing The Animation Show 4 at the Detroit Film Theatre. My favorite piece was "Forgetfulness" by Julian Grey, which is an animation of the poem of the same name by Billy Collins. It's really quite terrific and you can see it online here (or watch the lesser quality YouTube version below) where you can also see animations for two more poems by Collins, "Budapest" and "Some Days."

I think these are quite incredible and I wish there were more of them. Not more done by this studio of Billy Collins poems, but I wish there were more poem videos like there are music videos. Sure, you could argue that watching a video interferes with the reader's (listener's?) experience with them poem, but I think the same could be argued about music videos. I love how these animations pull the poem from the page and give it life beyond that. It puts the poem out there in the world in a way it otherwise never would have achieved on its printed or spoken own.

And for those who don't dig Billy Collins, I think "Forgetfulness" is one of his best poems. It's certainly my favorite.