Maximus to Himself

This is a film rendition of the poem "Maximus to Himself" by Charles Olson, taken from his collection THE MAXIMUS POEMS. It is a five minute sound film, black and white action footage, juxtaposed and contrasted with color painting on the celluloid. All is synchronized and contains still shots, slow motion, and fast moving image. Most of the footage was shot in the summer of 1967, in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the home of Charles Olson and the scene of "The Maximus Poems. " The sea ballad, "The Shoals of Herring", is sung by the British song writer and folk singer, Ewan MacColl.