Cinema Muto

by Jesse Lee Kercheval

In Cinema Muto, Jesse Lee Kercheval examines the enduring themes of time, mortality, and love as revealed through the power of silent film. Following the ten days of the annual Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Italy, this collection of ekphrastic poems are love letters to the evocative power of silent cinema. Kercheval’s poems elegantly capture the allure of these rare films, which compel hundreds of pilgrims from around the world—from scholars and archivists, to artists and connoisseurs—to flock to Italy each autumn. Cinema Muto celebrates the flickering tales of madness and adventure, drama and love, which are all too often left to decay within forgotten vaults. As reels of Mosjoukine and D. W. Griffith float throughout the collection, a portrait also emerges of the simple beauty of Italy in October and of two lovers who are drawn together by their mutual passion for an extinct art. Together they revel in recapturing “the black and white gestures of a lost world.”

 

Cinema Muto is a tender tribute to the brief yet unforgettable reign of silent film. Brimming with stirring images of dreams, desire, and the ghosts of cinema legends gone by, Kercheval’s verse is a testament to the mute beauty and timeless lessons that may still be discovered in a fragile roll of celluloid.

 

 

 

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 2009

Reviews

[AJ Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of poetry, interweaving poems about silent movies with observations about God and relationships. Truly the work of a mature and confident poet.

[Cathryn Cofell · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Jesse Lee's best; I felt like I was in the cinema with her! She has an amazing ability to condense hundreds of silent films into the finest of poems, woven in with her own life as well as those of other theater goers, directors, actors and exceptional. I've not read anything like it in a long, long time. Really delightful!

[Diann Blakely]

This beautiful collection of poems arrived, purely by coincidence, on my birthday. When I thanked Kercheval for sending it, and so fortuitously, she said “Aw, shucks.” When I told her I loved people who used such expressions and asked where she was from, she replied “France by way of Florida--but I think I got the aw shucks from my Kentucky mom.”

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous collection! One of those thematic poetry books that doesn't seem forced at all. The trope of the silent film works in myriad ways, and in my opinion, it works best when the poems aren't actually film but rather about love, family, and even, occasionally, surprisingly, God.