Read by Miami Poetry Film Screenings at The Bass Museum of Art

The Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation and O, Miami are thrilled to announce Read By Miami, their second set of collaborative films featuring Miami poets, premiering at The Bass Museum of Art during Miami Beach Culture Crawl!

Eight films showcase the poems and performances of Tom Healy, Caridad Moro-Gronlier, Christell Victoria Roach, and Jaswinder Bolina, each of whom read one poem of their own and a second poem by a favorite poet. Two more films feature performances by actor Ruben Rabasa.

All ten films feature performers with deep roots in South Florida. Together, their voices showcase Miami-Dade County’s many stories, histories, and cultures. The films, shot in Miami-Dade, were directed by Cuban-American filmmaker Eric Felipe-Barkin and shot by Jorge Gonzalez Graupera.

The Films

Miami-Dade Poet Laureate Emerita Caridad Moro-Gronlier performs her poem “In Defense of
My Mother Who Never Bought Me a Barbie Dreamhouse” in the parking lot of a Hialeah strip
mall.

Tom Healy, poet and activist, reads his “Sonnet for the Chickens” in a film that calls to mind
1960s 8mm home movies, co-starring the feral chickens of Downtown Miami.

Poet and performer Christell Victoria Roach reads Terrance Hayes’ “The Golden Shovel,” the
poem that launched a new poetic form, as day turns to night in Overtown.

Jaswinder Bolina, a poet and essayist, reads musician David Berman’s “Snow” while doing
community service hours under a bridge on the Commodore Trail.

Acclaimed actor Ruben Rabasa performs José Martí’s iconic “Cultivo una rosa blanca” after
being forcibly ejected from a chiva party bus at La Carreta.

Caridad Moro-Gronlier, wearing her quinceañera best, performs Matthew Olzmann’s “Letter to
the Person Who Carved His Initials into the Oldest Living Longleaf Pine in North America” in the
Florida pine forest.

Jaswinder Bolina pauses on the side of the road in Coconut Grove to read his “Palace of
Amenhotep (or 20th Century Elegy)” in a one-take monologue.

Tom Healy reads W. H. Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” from behind the counter of a
downtown pawn shop during the frenzy of Art Basel.

Ruben Rabasa delivers a litany of grievances from Frank Báez’s “Self-Portrait” while barely
serving customers at la ventanita at Versailles.

Christell Victoria Roach performs her “Overture” in a city symphony exploring the history of
Overtown and Black Miami.

About Read By Miami

Co-produced by O, Miami and commissioned by the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation, the
Read By Miami poem films shine a light on Miami itself and the talented artists it’s home to.
South Florida poets Jaswinder Bolina, Tom Healy, Caridad Moro-Gronlier, and Christell Victoria
Roach and actor Ruben Rabasa each perform two favorite poems in films created by director
Eric Felipe-Barkin.

Shot on location around Miami-Dade County, these film bear witness to Miami’s many stories,
histories, cultures, and environments. The films will be released online every Thursday through
June 4th.

The Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation is a literary nonprofit with a mission of spreading
access to poetry, whose focus is on bringing great poetry to film. They produce multiple poem
film series each year, performed by actors like Simon Callow and Paapa Essiedu and by poets
such as John Murillo, Marie Howe, Roger Robinson, Tyehimba Jess, Leslie Sainz, Willie Perdomo,
Seán Hewitt, and many others. They’ve created over 250 poem films in the past six years,
working with partners including the Academy of American Poets, Haymarket Books,
WritersMosaic, O, Miami, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, in NYC, London, Dublin, Los
Angeles, Miami, and beyond. Learn more here.