Tonight’s program consists of films made in 1965-66 by the KQED-TV film unit for NET as part of a series titled USA: Poetry, along with films patched together later from the NET outtakes by the American Poetry Archives at San Francisco State. The result is a substantial picturing of two of America’s finest poets. Duncan is filmed in his household, talking about the Tarot, a Tiffany vase, Passages 9 and 26, and the actual process of composing poetry. Louis Zukofsky reads from his published works, “A”, Catullus, Bottom: On Shakespeare, and the collected short poems. He fills the screen, all eyes and eyebrows, leaning forward into speech, a prickly intelligence with a certain insect-like charm.

USA: Poetry/Robert Duncan, KQED for NET, 1965; Robert Duncan: Second Edition, American Poetry Archives, 37 min.; USA: Poetry/Louis Zukofsky, KQED for NET, 1966, 30 min.; Louis Zukofsky: Second Edition, American Poetry Archives, 35 min.