Poets & Writers Theater

“Metaphors get under your skin by ghosting right past the logical mind.” In this animated TED-Ed video, poet Jane Hirshfield discusses the art and use of metaphors in our daily lives and in the works of Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, and Carl Sandburg.

“Much like his life, Neruda’s poems bridged romance and revolution by emphasizing the everyday moments worth fighting for.” Author Ilan Stavans narrates this TED-Ed animated film about the life and poetry of Pablo Neruda, directed by Ivana Bosnjak and Thomas Johnson.

Watch this surreal animated book trailer for Colin Winnette’s new novel, Users (Soft Skull, 2023), animated by Casey Jarman with music by Ben Morton and Kyle Morton. For more about the book, read this installment of our Ten Questions series featuring Winnette.

“Is a poem a little machine? A firework? An echo? A dream?” In this animated TED-Ed lesson by Melissa Kovacs, the poetic form is analyzed through famous speeches, song lyrics, and tweets.

Watch this animated poem directed by Diego Maclean and narrated by Billy Collins, from the poet’s 1995 collection, The Art of Drowning (University of Pittsburgh Press).

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son! / The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!” Lewis Carroll’s epic nonsense poem “Jabberwocky,” from his novel Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, comes to life in this TED-Ed animated video directed by Sjaak Rood.

“Another lie. Though every one makes what I’m about to do all the more easier.” Watch the first episode of “To Be Continued…” written by author Sandie Jones and animated by Hailley Furkalo. This five-part series pairs authors from Reese’s Book Club with animators for a short story with twists, turns, and cliffhangers. 

“My mouth / had been a helmet forever / greased with secrets…” Tim Seibles narrates his poem “First Kiss” from his collection Buffalo Head Solos (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 2004) for this TED-Ed animated short film directed by Hannah Jacobs, part of the “There’s a Poem for That” series.

“We are // more vulnerable / by far // than is realized / by even our // least sung, / furthest flung, // and most / compromised.” This Motionpoems short film directed by Calum Macdiarmid features a poem written by Motionpoems founder Todd Boss, the first in a series that specifically speaks to a pandemic-ridden world which was commissioned by the University of Minnesota Medical School’s Center for the Art of Medicine.

“It’s a multilayered exploration of not only the intimate details of life aboard a whaling ship, but also subjects from across human and natural history, by turns playful and tragic, humorous and urgent.” In this TED-Ed animated lesson by Sascha Morrell and directed by Martina Meštrović, the unique narration and imagery of Herman Melville’s classic novel is explored and celebrated.

“Her odes to Inanna mark the first time an author writes using the pronoun ‘I,’ and the first time writing is used to explore deep, private emotions.” This animated TED-Ed lesson by Soraya Field Fiorio explores the writings of Enheduanna, a high priestess in ancient Mesopotamia who is widely considered the world’s first author and wrote forty-two hymns and three epic poems by the time of her exile.

“Written in Moscow during the 1930s, this surreal blend of political satire, historical fiction, and occult mysticism has earned a legacy as one of the twentieth century’s greatest novels—and one of its strangest.” This TED-Ed lesson by Alex Gendler, directed by Adriatic Animation, depicts the premise of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita and the circumstances surrounding its writing and eventual publication in the 1960s.

“Tan speaks to anxieties that plague many immigrants, who often feel both alienated from their homeland and disconnected from their adopted country.” In this TED-Ed animated film, Sheila Marie Orfano breaks down the themes of Amy Tan’s first novel, The Joy Luck Club, and the lessons learned from the intergenerational relationships of the characters.

“Reading Borges, you might catch a glimpse of infinity too.” In this TED-Ed animated short film, the work of Jorge Luis Borges and the way his essays, poems, and stories helped pioneer the magical realism genre is explored by Ilan Stavans. 

“Elephant on an orange line, underneath a yellow circle / meaning sun. / 6 green, vertical lines, with color all from the top / meaning flowers.” In this animated short film for the TED-Ed “There’s a Poem for That” series, Aracelis Girmay reads her poem “For Estefani Lora, Third Grade, Who Made Me a Card” from her collection Teeth (Curbstone Press, 2007).

“My mama’s tongue is a telegram from her mother / decorated with the coqui’s of el campo...” Denice Frohman reads her poem “Accents” for this animated TED-Ed short film directed by Kapwa and Robertino Zambrano.

“I don’t know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed...” In this animated video, the late Mary Oliver reads her poem “The Summer Day” recorded from a 2012 92Y reading.

“Back home we are plagued by a politeness / so dense even the doctors cannot call things / what they are…” Safia Elhillo narrates her poem “To Make Use of Water” from her collection, The January Children (University of Nebraska Press, 2017), for this animated TED-Ed film directed by Jérémie Balais and Jeffig Le Bars.

“I watched a dandelion lose its mind in the wind / and when it did, it scattered a thousand seeds.“ Andrea Gibson, author of Lord of the Butterflies (Button Poetry, 2018), reads their poem “The Nutritionist” for this animated TED-Ed film directed by Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat.

The poetry podcast Haiku Chronicles celebrates Poem in Your Pocket Day with this video featuring poems from Yosa Buson, Akiko Yosano, Allen Ginsberg, and others.