In this installment of the P.O.P series, Cyrus Cassells reads the poem “Act of Gratitude,” a litany of thanks by the Catalán poet Francesc Parcerisas that begins, “Thank you, angel. Thank you, demons of the night.” He also reads his own poem “Elegy with an Owl in It” and discusses the importance of human rights activism.
Produced by poet and photographer Rachel Eliza Griffiths, P.O.P (“Poets on Poetry”) is a video series featuring contemporary American poets reading both an original poem and a poem by another poet. Each poet then reflects on these poems and answers a question provided by a previous participant in the series. What results is an evolving, multifaceted conversation among poets about the art form. The Academy of American Poets has partnered with Griffiths to release the P.O.P video series on Poets.org, alongside Rachel Eliza Griffiths’s essay on the project: "Poets on Poetry: A Virtual Village of Discovery and Poetics.”