Series: Poetry Breaks
Program: Poetry Breaks I, Martin Espada
Date: 1989-01-01
Subject: Oral interpretation of poetry; Readings
Copyright Holder: Leita Hagemann LuchettiWGBH Educational Foundation

Clip Description
Martin Espada was born in 1957 in Brooklyn, New York. He received his Bachelor's of Art in history at the University of Wisconsin and a J.D. in law from Northeastern University in Boston. Martin Espada is currently an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

This was one of three tapes designed for use in high schools. Martin Espada introduces and reads his poems in the library of a New England home. The following poems were edited for general distribution and broadcast and appear on the master tape with and without "Poetry Breaks" logo and copyright:

"Watch Me Swing"
"Niggerlips"
"We Live by What We See at Night"
"Mrs. Baez Serves Coffee on the 3rd Floor"
"Tony Went to the Bodega but He Didn't Buy Anything"
"Trumpets from the Islands of Their Eviction"

Multiple takes of these poems and the following appear on the source tapes of original footage:
"The Moon Shatters on Alabama"
"Avenue"
"Ghosts"
"Tiburon"
"Le Senior Est Muerto"
"Greeto for Nicaragua"

Produced and directed by Leita Hagemann Luchetti.

"Poetry Breaks," conceived by Leita Hagemann Luchetti and co-produced by Luchetti and WGBH New Television Workshop, is an ongoing series of over 100 thirty-second to four-minute spots presenting internationally known poets reading their work on location. These have aired individually on WGBH and public television stations across the country. The Workshop collaborated with Luchetti until its closing in 1993, at which point the works became co-productions of Luchetti and the larger WGBH Foundation.

"Poetry Breaks II," produced from 1991-1994, began airing on WGBH-TV in 1994, and was also broadcast by dozens of other public television stations throughout the country starting in 1994. Between 1995 and 1997, three new poets were taped for Poetry Breaks III.

Program Description
Martin Espada was born in 1957 in Brooklyn, New York. He received his Bachelor's of Art in history at the University of Wisconsin and a J.D. in law from Northeastern University in Boston. Martin Espada is currently an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

This was one of three tapes designed for use in high schools. Martin Espada introduces and reads his poems in the library of a New England home. The following poems were edited for general distribution and broadcast and appear on the master tape with and without "Poetry Breaks" logo and copyright:

"Watch Me Swing"
"Niggerlips"
"We Live by What We See at Night"
"Mrs. Baez Serves Coffee on the 3rd Floor"
"Tony Went to the Bodega but He Didn't Buy Anything"
"Trumpets from the Islands of Their Eviction"

Multiple takes of these poems and the following appear on the source tapes of original footage:
"The Moon Shatters on Alabama"
"Avenue"
"Ghosts"
"Tiburon"
"Le Senior Est Muerto"
"Greeto for Nicaragua"

Produced and directed by Leita Hagemann Luchetti.

"Poetry Breaks," conceived by Leita Hagemann Luchetti and co-produced by Luchetti and WGBH New Television Workshop, is an ongoing series of over 100 thirty-second to four-minute spots presenting internationally known poets reading their work on location. These have aired individually on WGBH and public television stations across the country. The Workshop collaborated with Luchetti until its closing in 1993, at which point the works became co-productions of Luchetti and the larger WGBH Foundation.

"Poetry Breaks II," produced from 1991-1994, began airing on WGBH-TV in 1994, and was also broadcast by dozens of other public television stations throughout the country starting in 1994. Between 1995 and 1997, three new poets were taped for Poetry Breaks III.

Series Description
The New Television Workshop originated at WGBH, a public broadcasting station in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1974 to support the creation and development of experimental video art. This experimental programming included dance, drama, music, performance and visual arts on video and film. As early as 1968, WGBH was committed to the development of video art through residency programs, with artists such as Nam June Paik, and the "Rockefeller Artists-in-Television" project. Many of these early works (pre-1974) were broadcast both locally and nationally.

As an umbrella for arts related programming, the Workshop included "Artist's Showcase, " "Frames of Reference, " "Dance for Camera, " "Poetry Breaks," and "New Television," as well as acquired arts programming. Individual works were created for "Visions," a series produced by WNET (New York), and "Alive From Off Center," a series produced by KTCA (St. Paul - Minneapolis). The Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund was co-founded by the Workshop and Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in the 1980's, to commission works by video artists. In 1993 the Workshop ceased production at WGBH.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/NTW/FA/TITLES/Poetry75.HTML