CELEBRATE: Family,
Traditional American Values,
Childhood Recollection,
Spiritual Communion with Ancestors,
Memory of Times Past
OLD FAMILY MOVIES: POETRY VIDEO consists of a book of poems plus a 40-minute DVD, with ten videos of poems from the book. The videos are digital movies, consisting of the poet reading his poems accompanied by slideshows, old movie footage from the 1930s, photographs dating from the 1920s through the 90s, and animated text. They are a new form of personal memory, produced by mixing the traditional genre of nostalgic, performed lyric with 21st Century, visual technology.
The DVD includes the following videos, ranging from 3 to 12 minutes: “Morgan Park, 1889,”
“My Mother's Kindergarten Classroom,” “Mother, Rhea Kirschten,” “Mickleberry’s Log Cabin Restaurant,” “Old Family Movies,” “My Father’s Tie Rack,” ”Unwrapping Christmas Ornaments,” “Hudson Avenue,” “My Father’s Death Certificate,” and “Minnie Minoso” [Chicago White Sox].
“My Mother’s Kindergarten Classroom" is a joyous look at the details of an old kindergarten classroom, where the poet’s mother taught on the South Side of Chicago for 40 years. “My Father’s Death Certificate” is a 12-minute, grieving ritual, in which the poet recalls his love for a father, still missed and loved many years after death. “Minnie Minoso” is a tribute to the nostalgic memory of baseball, centering on the left fielder who played for the Chicago White Sox in the 1950s.
Most important to note: OLD FAMILY MOVIES is not only about the poet’s family; it is about
your family.
About the Author
Robert Kirschten, PhD, is the author of James Dickey and the Gentle Ecstasy of Earth: A Reading of the Poems;“Approaching Prayer”: Ritual and the Shape of Myth in A.R. Ammons and James Dickey; and five books of poems, Old Family Movies, Nighthawks and Irises: Poems about Paintings, Chicago Poems, Looney Tunes: A Comic Book of Poems, and Fribble and Wheeze: a post postmodern Book of Poems.
Kirschten is the editor of Critical Essays on James Dickey, “Struggling for Wings”: The Art of James Dickey, James Dickey: The Selected Poems, and Critical Essays on A.R. Ammons.
He is Associate Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing
at Prairie View A&M University.
Reviews
“OLD FAMILY MOVIES: POETRY VIDEO by Robert Kirschten celebrates family memories in a new and vivid format. As the mother of two boys, the younger of whom is just beginning school, I want to remember the major moments in their lives with this new method of e-scrapbooking. Like other families, we have lost loved ones; yet, with poetry video, the remembrance of parents and grandparents can come vividly alive for my children and for their children I have enjoyed many viewings of OLD FAMILY MOVIES—it is really about all families!-- and intend to use it as model for my own digital, memory projects.”
— Rogina Fritsch,
Cypress, Texas
“OLD FAMILY MOVIES represents a wonderful new way of experiencing poetry in a multi-media format; the book comes with a DVD containing videos of the poems. The images that accompany the readings bring the poetry to life for the reader. I found "My Father's Death Certificate" especially moving, as the clinical language of the certificate yields to the softer tone of reminiscence as the images of the son's relationship with his father unfold simultaneously in word and picture. "My Mother's Kindergarten Classroom" brings the past to life with happier images of a life and a way of life remembered. This book/video experience is a real treat, and points the way toward a new direction in poetry.”
— Janet McCann. Ph.D.,
Director of Creative Writing, Texas A&M University
“OLD FAMILY MOVIES by Robert Kirschten is a delightful way to experience poetry. It is intriguing to read the poems and then listen to and view the author share his work and his family memories through the media of DVD. Unfortunately, many people think that poetry must rhyme and be read in "sing song" voice. It is enriching to hear Kirschten read each poem as it was meant to be read. The DVD is also filled with some wonderful pictures and verses about the Chicago of yesteryear as well as a nostalgic walk down memory lane for those of us who consider ourselves baby boomers and value preserving family memories. As an educator of adult students, I plan to use OLD FAMILY MOVIES as an innovative way to introduce poetry appreciation and open a discussion on family values.”
— Hollace Pletcher, M.A.,
ABLE Coordinator, Career and Technology
Education Centers of Licking County, Ohio
