Poetry TV for National Poetry Month

Poetry + television have a powerful chemistry, as we are reminded every April when the public media turn their attention especially to poets and poems. Here are a few of the poetry/tv alloys making their way into the world this National Poetry Month:

• The Poetry Foundation and HBO have collaborated on Classical Baby: The Poetry Show, a 23-minute video introduction to poetry for kids “through animation and song. Featuring the voices of performers Andy Garcia, John Lithgow, Elizabeth Mitchell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Susan Sarandon, and Jeffrey Wright, and poets Langston Hughes, Gertrude Stein, and William Carlos Williams... short segments presenting well-known poems—and some surprises... Between each segment, children—ranging in age from 4 to 9—offer commentary and muse on the meaning and mystery of poetry....” Now available on DVD, or if you have HBO at home, check the schedule of showings on HBO Family.
  
  
• WNET Thirteen, the PBS station in New York, is hosting “Television–A Renga” on its blog—they’ve already collected renga segments from Garrison Keillor, David Lehman and Roy Blount, Jr. and readers are invited to send in “a few lines of fives and sevens on Thirteen, public television, and television in general.”
  
  
• PBS’ history series American Experience (produced by WGBH in Boston) is premiering its profile of Walt Whitman on PBS stations around the country Monday, April 14 and has produced an extensive Web site where you can find an annotated map of Walt Whitman’s New York, a timeline of his life, links to additional references, and even watch the whole program online after the premiere broadcast.