04/29/2001

By TOM MAYO

Poetry

In her 1996 Nobel lecture, Wislawa Szymborska described the film biographies of great scientists and artists, which she said are often filled with scenes of high drama and spectacle. "Poets," on the other hand, "are the worst. Their work is hopelessly unphotogenic. Someone sits at a table or lies on a sofa while staring motionless at a wall or ceiling. Once in a while this person writes down seven lines only to cross out one of them 15 minutes later, and then another hour passes, during which nothing happens. Who could stand to watch this kind of thing?"

That said, there is no shortage of films of, by, or about poets and their work, including two that are or are about to be in current release. For this final Sunday of National Poetry Month, here is a quiz about poets and poetry at the movies.

1. This documentary about a San Francisco-born poet was commissioned by John F. Kennedy and won an Academy Award in 1964. (5 points for the title; 2 points for the poet's name only.)

2. Sam Pickering (a former English teacher at Montgomery Bell Academy and Dartmouth College) was the person screenwriter Tom Schulman had in mind when he wrote the lead character in this 1989 film. John Campbell, a history teacher at Detroit Country Day was the source of inspiration for the star's performance. (5 points for the film's title; 2 additional points for the name of the star.)

3. In the 1993 John Singleton film, Poetic Justice, Janet Jackson plays the role of Justice, a South-Central L.A. beautician and poet. Not surprisingly, Justice's poems were written by neither Ms. Jackson nor Mr. Singleton. Who wrote the poems (and appeared in the film)? (5 points)

4. Whose original 1945 screenplay, purchased in a second-hand bookstore for £1 by producer Chris Sievernich, was turned into the 1991 film Rebecca's Daughters, starring Peter O'Toole, Joely Richardson and Paul Rhys? (5 points)

5. Hamlet has been made into at least 25 films (not counting the made-for-TV versions). The very first was a French silent film made in 1900. Who played the lead? (5 points)

6. This poet and novelist won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958 but was pressured by his government to retract his acceptance. (5 points for the poet's name; 2 points for the title of his most famous novel, which became a 1965 film by Sir David Lean)

7. This British poet is better known for his music. His films in 1964 and 1965 were precursors to the modern music video. (5 points for the poet's name; 2 points for the name of his first published book of poems)

8. Gus Van Sant's directorial debut was the film version of an autobiographical novel (Mala Noche) by Portland, Oregon's most famous poet. (5 points for the poet's name)

9. The lead character in Love Jones (1997) is the poet Darius Lovehall, who is based on a Chicago poet and national individual slam champion who held forth in the legendary Spices Jazz Bar. (5 points for the poet's name)

10. The forthcoming Pandaemonium (filmed around Somerset County, England, which is closely associated with the Arthurian legend) is a period drama about these two romantic poets. (5 points for each poet's name)

11. This French poet and dramatist's works include La Princesse lointaine, which he wrote for the answer to Question 5. His towering masterpiece of dramatic poetry, however, gave Jose Ferrer his best screen role and inspired Steve Martin's 1987 comic gem. (5 points for the poet's name; 2 points for the name of Steve Martin's film)

12. The Claim (2000) is only the most recent film to be based on one of this British poet's novels. He gave up fiction at the age of 58 and published only poetry for the next 30 years, including Winter Words in 1928, the year he died. (5 points for the poet's name; 2 points for the name of the novel that inspired The Claim)

13. Benjamin Bratt stars in this forthcoming film, based on the life of this poet (and playwright and actor), who served time in Sing Sing prison (the basis for his play, Short Eyes) and whose poetry is sometimes recognized as a precursor to rap and hip-hop. (5 points for the poet's name)

14. Mickey Rourke played the role "Henry Chinaski," a hard-living, hard-drinking "Poet Laureate of Skidrow" in what movie? (5 points for the name of the film; 5 more points for the name of the real-life poet on whom Chinaski was based)

15. This exiled, Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet was a central character in the Italian film Il Postino (The Postman) in 1994. (5 points for the poet's name)

16. French poet Arthur Rimbaud was the inspiration for the "hook" (and for the name of the album: A Season in Hell) in this 1983 rock 'n' roll film. (5 points for the name of the film)

17. Before Night Falls (in current release) is about a gay poet and novelist who was imprisoned for seven years in Castro's Cuba. (5 points for the poet's name)

18. The poet and photographer Gordon Parks hit it big when he directed this 1971 film classic. (5 points for the name of the film)

19. This lawyer-poet (also: Librarian of Congress and Under Secretary of State) collaborated on the films Magic Prison: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Keats: His Life and Death. He won Pulitzer Prizes for his narrative poem about the conquest of Mexico, his Collected Poems and a verse drama. (5 points for his name)

20. This HBO film, adapted from the 1999 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama (and currently playing at the Dallas Theater Center), prominently features the Holy Sonnets of John Donne. (5 points for the name of the film)

Answers:

1. Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel with the World

2. Dead Poet's Society; Robin Williams

3. Maya Angelou, who was "Aunt June" in the film.

4. Dylan Thomas

5. Sarah Bernhardt

6. Boris Pasternak; Dr. Zhivago

7. John Lennon; In His Own Write

8. Walt Curtis, who was also the subject of Peckerneck Poet by director Bill Plympton (whose most recent release is the soon-to-be-classic animated film, Mutant Aliens

9. Reggie Gibson

10. William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge

11. Edmond Rostand (who wrote Cyrano de Bergerac), with whom Steve Martin shared the writing credit for Roxanne

12. Thomas Hardy; The Mayor of Casterbridge

13. Miguel Pinero

14. Barfly; Charles Bukowski, who received a writing credit for the film

15. Pablo Neruda

16. Eddie and the Cruisers

17. Reinaldo Arenas

18. Shaft

19. Archibald MacLeish

20. Wit, adapted by Mike Nichols and Emma Thompson from the play by Margaret Edson.

Tom Mayo, an associate professor of law at Southern Methodist University, teaches "Law, Literature & Medicine" at the law school and at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas.