Repackaging Poetry to Make It Accessible : With His Video Anthology of Southern California Poets, Editor Hopes to Give Them a Wider Audience

Last year, as Leo Guerra watched 96-year-old Fela Ramirez reading the love poems she had written 70 years ago, he vowed that the beauty of the moment would not be lost. He would videotape Ramirez--and other poets--as they read their works.

Eleven months later, in January of this year, Ramirez died--but not before Guerra had taped her reading the poetry inspired by an unrequited love. Today there are more than 120 other poets included in his videotape anthology.

Guerra, a Burbank film editor, hopes to package an annual video anthology of poets, tentatively titled “Poets Go on Video.” His first 4-hour tape, which will be accompanied by a book of poems, will feature the work of 50 Southern Californians and is scheduled for screening late this fall. Guerra, who has spent about $4,500 of his money on the project, hopes to sell the book and videotape to a video publisher. In the meantime, he continues to scout poetry readings, videotaping as many writers as he can find.

Promoting poetry--making it more accessible and visually appealing--is Guerra’s No. 1 goal. Not everyone he tapes will be included in the final cut, but he intends to present a variety of different and unknown poets and “break the misconceptions” about them in the process.

“The tradition has been to make fun of poets, to think of them as beatniks, or Emily Dickinsons, or pretentious and pompous individuals,” Guerra said. “The majority of us, though, have all kinds of different styles and life styles.”

Guerra looks for poets who don’t fit the stereotypes. Accompanied by a flashing strobe light, Bruce Morasch, a computer consultant and a doctoral candidate in psychology at UCLA, pounds on his chest as he gives his rendition of his “reckless, restless” poetry. Valerie Webber, a marketing representative and actress who has been writing poetry for more than 20 years, delivers her work, “TV Letter Read on the Air,” in a straightforward manner. But the poem’s juxtaposition of death and a TV comedy show results in a sort of “poetry of the absurd.”

Other poets, such as information systems consultant Pedro Derycz, present what Guerra calls “shock poetry”--a raw, sometimes offensive expression, deliberately designed to irk certain audiences. “He’s on to something hot,” said Derycz, referring to Guerra. “A lot of poets just try to get into the readings and not do anything else for the scene. Reading isn’t enough. Leo is giving it a wider audience. He’s giving it some respect.”

When complete, the video will feature all types of poetry: romantic, comedic, surrealistic, experimental, political, erotic and narrative. The author’s occupations are just as varied: In addition to the doctoral candidate, marketing representative and information systems consultant, Guerra has taped a waitress, engineer, office clerk, retiree, carpenter and a university tutor, among others.

Born in Mexico, Guerra, 38, first became interested in poetry while attending parochial school in East Los Angeles. He inspiration, he said, came from his eighth-grade teacher, Sister Urban. “She loved poetry and wanted us to love it, too. She had the entire class writing Japanese Haiku. Maybe I wouldn’t be writing now if I didn’t have her then.”

Guerra’s interest in poetry waned when he was in high school but was rekindled when he reached his mid-20s. Three years ago, he joined a workshop at Beyond Baroque in Venice but soon discovered that he was disillusioned with the program. “There were a lot of poets who just didn’t fit in,” he said. “There were more poets who had been rejected than accepted.” With the help of another poetry advocate, Pablo Fernando, Guerra established a separate poetry workshop that now meets Tuesday evenings in Douglas Park in Santa Monica.

He hopes the convenience of his videotape will appeal to mass audiences. “In the Soviet Union, a single poet can attract as many as 20,000 viewers in one reading,” he said. “There are a lot of excellent poets in America who could probably draw large audiences, too. But the problem is, a lot of people here aren’t aware there is anything worthwhile going on in poetry.”

Guerra doesn’t expect that most people will want to sit through the entire 4-hour tape in one sitting. “As much as I love poetry, that would be a long time for even me,” he said. “The idea is to have the videotapes at home and watch them again and again, when you feel like it.”

And because there are open poetry readings only about once a week in Los Angeles, he said, the tapes could be an alternative to waiting for such gatherings. Regularly scheduled poetry readings include: the first Wednesday of the month at Poecentric lounge at Jennifer’s Bar & Grill downtown; the second Saturday of the month La Bohemia , a Spanish-language group, at Cole’s Restaurant downtown; the third Wednesday of the month at Bebop Records in Reseda, and the fourth Thursday of the month at Midnight Special Bookstore in Santa Monica.

Guerra admits there are drawbacks to

poetry on videotape. Some poetry, he said, is better suited for the written page, especially those works that are “dense” and can be interpreted on many levels. Likewise, certain poets have difficulty reading their work before an audience or the camera.

“Some poets read in a monotone voice, or freeze when they hear their name called and it’s time for them to go up in front of the audience,” Guerra said. “Then I can’t use their work, even if the poetry itself is good.”

In such instances, he intends to use what are called declamadores in Spanish-language poetry, performers who are trained to read the poetry and bring it alive through dramatization.

“I say lots of luck,” said Richard Bruland, who owns Bebop Records. “He’ll make a lot of people unhappy if he doesn’t include them. I hope he’s able to decide on a group of poets that will not get others mad. . . . Poetry is extremely personal, but it’s worth a try.”

Working so closely with other poets has inspired thoughts of additional projects. There is talk about starting a quarterly poetry publication and plans are being made for a poetry festival/convention to be held in the fall of 1989.

“Maybe someday a person will actually be able to make a living as a poet,” Guerra said. “I’m asking for a miracle at this point--but I do believe in miracles.”