Recently I received this announcement about an interesting new project that merges poetry and film:

My name is Jenn Irwin and I’m the digital marketing specialist at PoetrySpeaks.com. I wanted to share some exciting poetry-related news with you because I thought this would be something you’d really enjoy experiencing that relates to your blog. I’d like to share with you a truly inspiring and motivational short film called The Captain – a film
which was selected out of ninety-six entries to be highlighted by the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival earlier this year.  Today is the first day this film has been available online, and it has left us completely changed with a new belief in the beauty and good in humanity. We are so honored to be able to share it with you this holiday season.

Written, produced and directed by Octavia Spencer and narrated by Emmy Award Winner Allison Janney of The West Wing, this film is an amazing example of how visceral and inspiring poetry is in our every day lives. Based on the poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley, Spencer takes the promising message of this poem and portrays it in a way children of all ages understand – through basketball and a boy named Daniel who has a
disability.

This week is also the release of the movie Invictus, directed by Clint Eastwood. This ties in perfectly with the premiere of “The Captain” - Nelson Mandela recited the poem “Invictus” daily during his 27-year imprisonment.

In the future, PoetrySpeaks.com will spotlight select films that consist of strong prose and represent a unique poetic style in an inspirational way. This is just one of the many elements of PoetrySpeaks.com. If this is your first introduction to PoetrySpeaks.com, I invite you to learn more about how we are building a new online poetry community where
anyone can share their work (audio or video) and poets can market their work. You’re invited to visit PoetrySpeaks.com to see what critics have called “the iTunes and YouTube for poetry.”

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