Posted on Wed., June 2, 2021
Join writer Jack Skelley and "Made in L.A. 2020" artist Sabrina Tarasoff for a virtual screening and conversation on Gail Kaszynski's 1983 documentary Fear of Poetry. Kaszynski's film is an improvisatory 40-minute foray into a fervent, formative period in the lives of poets such as Dennis Cooper, Benjamin Weissman, Amy Gerstler, and Bob Flanagan, who took part in Cooper's famed Wednesday Night Poetry readings. Drawing on archival footage from those gatherings, including interviews and readings, Fear of Poetry presents a snapshot of Venice in the 1980s: a chorus of punks, poets, artists, and performers co-existing in a place where, according to Flanagan, "love is still possible."
The program is presented by the Hammer Museum.