Projects

50/100 Centennial, 2011-2012

The year 2011-2012 marked the centennial of the birth of Hyam Plutzik (1911-1962) and also the fiftieth anniversary of the Plutzik Reading Series at the University of Rochester, established in 1962 to continue the popular reading series Plutzik established shortly before his death.

The 50/100 celebrations included UR-sponsored events around the nation, including Plutzik Series Readings ‘on the road’, the publication of a new edition of Plutzik’s poetry collection Apples from Shinar by Wesleyan University Press, and other offerings including readings, publications, library exhibits, screenings, theatrical presentations, symposia and celebrations.

Miami Broadsides Exhibition at The Betsy - South Beach, 2011

Broadsides of ten of Hyam Plutzik’s poems were displayed on the walls of this luxury hotel in Miami Beach, as part of a major poetry project sponsored by the Knight Foundation.

“Nothing Can Be Done, But Something Can Be Said” 2010

A short film using Hyam Plutzik’s poems and WWII letters as an anchor for a year- long audiovisual tribute to soldiers and their families. Includes footage of Hyam’s widow, Tanya, reading his war letters.

Poetry Dinners Project at The Betsy - South Beach, 2009

Premiere of a video short that showed the last interview with the late U.S. Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz (1904-2005), filmed as part of the making of Hyam Plutzik: American Poet, a film by Christine Choy.

Zebra Poetry Film Festival, Berlin, Germany, 2008

The documentary film Hyam Plutzik: American Poet had its European premiere in October 2008 at the Zebra Poetry Film Festival in Berlin, where it was selected as one of the keynote films in its “American Perspectives” program. Zebra has established itself as the world’s largest forum for the international poetry film. It offers filmmakers from around the world an opportunity to exchange ideas and provides a platform for short films that deal with poetry content, aesthetic or formal. The Hyam Plutzk documentary was one of two films that year that revealed the roots of cinema and poetry. The panel discussion that followed included some of Germany’s leading poets and critics, including Shelly Kupferberg, Esther Dischereit and Michael Roes, as well Americans Ram Devineni and Edward Moran. The Zebra program included original translations of eight of Plutzik’s poems by noted German poet Monika Rinck. LEARN MORE>>

Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival, Israel, 2007

Screening of film Hyam Plutzik: American Poet, including panel discussion with leading Israeli scholars.

Westfield Symphony Commissions for “Partners in Hope” at Carnegie Hall, 2006

Seven settings of poems by Hyam Plutzik (for orchestra, choir, and soloist) by Robert Cohen, composer.

Hyam Plutzik: American Poet

Hour-long documentary film directed by Oscar nominee Christine Choy and Ku-Ling Siegel. Film screened in New York City; Washington, DC; Rochester, NY; Jim Thorpe, PA; Larchmont, NY; Jerusalem, Israel; Berlin, Germany.