Bottom Dog Press, Inc.          

James Wright's Ohio   DVD 30 mins. 

Born in Martins Ferry, Ohio, in 1927, the son of a factory worker, James Wright rose to become a Pulitzer Prize winning poet. In his 16 books of poetry, prose, and translations, he revealed the essence of Ohio and her people—their
violence and vitality, their sorrow and strength.

The film includes interviews with poets William Matthews and Stanley Kunitz, and with his two wives Libby Kovacs and Annie Wright. It was filmed in the industrial Ohio Valley and includes many poem-videos of his most loved Ohio writings.

Through his writing and images here we witness his struggles to come to terms with his home state, and in the process creating the tension, beauty, and insight of his great art. James Wright wrote a poetry of Ohio and shared that Ohio with the world.

The film was supported by grants from the Ohio Humanities Council and the Ohio Arts Council and features the film work of Tom Koba and Larry Smith.

A Koba and Smith Production

DVD 30 minutes. Full-Color. Hi-Fi Stereo.$16

Watch YouTube sample at this link. 

 “I am the world-crier, and this is my dangerous career…I am the one to call your bluff, and this is my climate,” so declares rebel-poet Kenneth Patchen, and few would doubt the engaged stance of his bold art. The author of 38 books of daring poetry, fiction, and art, Patchen is widely praised as a creative genius and maverick. The film shows his evolution from his working-class roots in Ohio’s industrial Mahoning River Valley of the 1920’s, and follows him and his beloved wife Miriam through their years in Greenwich Village and San Francisco. His is the provocative position of an engaged poet, fiction writer, artist, and jazzman.

The film was supported by grants from the Ohio Humanities Council and the Ohio Arts Council and features the film work of Tom Koba and Larry Smith.

A Koba and Smith Production

DVD 44 mins.  Full Color Hi-Fi Stereo  $16.00

d.a. levy and the Cleveland  Mimeograph Revolution
Double DVD set d.a.levy (1942-1968): Cleveland Rebel Poet  Plus:  An Interview with Ed Sanders 

Poet, critic, member of rock group The Fugs, and political activist Ed Sanders remembers d.a.levy and the 1960s Mimeograph Revolution. This is a telling chronicle of those times of underground publishing, coffeehouse readings, and clashes with the authorities. Sanders ends with a tribute poem for martyred friend, d.a.levy: “d.a. levy/ the chaff of / genius/ blown/ up above/harsh Cleveland./ It may take centuries/ to sort him out/ It often does/ with poets/ The issues of/ economic justice/ and personal freedom/ which wore out the good bard levy/ have not yet/ been addressed/ in America...”  
35 mins. color. A Koba & Smith Production

CD with Booklet...Larry Smith reading these zen poems with Monte Page on flute. Includes a 16 page booklet of the poems of Zen poets Wang Wei & Taigu Ryokan. Translations by Larry Smith and Mei Hui Liu Huang.

"Full of clear intention, it's as clear as a mountain stream...mountains and rivers of Zen verse." - REview from CDBaby

Hear a sample on Youtube