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Reference Number:

TE2/1973/131

Jim White Writers in Schools Discussion 1973 (part 1)

An American, James White taught as a poet in the schools on the Navajo Indian Reservation and in Minnesota public schools as part of a pilot program by COMPAS (Community Programs in the Arts & Sciences). In this panel discussion he talks about the value of writers placements in schools and the Minnesota project in particular. Molly LaBerge, writer and Project Director of the Minneapolis Poets in Schools scheme also describes the origins of the idea, assessing both its successes and failures.

Date Recorded: 1973

Length: 33 min, 00 sec

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Additional Information

Discussion. Begins with a wide shot of an L-shaped stage platform being filmed by a stationary camera at front centre. In front of the stage are a small, round white table with glasses on water on it, 3 chairs and a microphone. The room (Blythswood Square) is white-washed with square-shaped wooden panelling along its ceiling perimeter. A tracking and sound wave in at the 11 sec mark reveals a dark-haired English man in a suit and striped tie standing centre. To the man's left is an American man in glasses and lapels. To the man's right, a blonde American woman in a suit jacket, skirt and necklace. The dark-haired man takes a seat on the crook of stage and begins the discussion on writing in education curriculum, with focus on Scotland. At the 15 min, 39 min mark, a photo camera-like flashing begins to occur while the blonde woman is speaking, becoming less pronounced with a zoom out. There are light tracking disturbances throughout the film, at 1 min, 30 sec they appear to have an affect on the stereo sound quality, creating a bouncing effect between the left and right channels. Ends on a zoomed in shot of the seated man with glasses at left, from the waist up, A tracking wave cuts him mid-sentence, "...and one of the things I remember when I was in school, was that one of the duties..."