Lorine Niedecker

A few weeks ago, I got a tip from a coworker that a documentary film about Lorine Niedecker was being shown at Loyola University. I used to be the only person I knew who knew who Lorine Niedecker was, so naturally I had to drop everything I was doing to go see the film. I'm glad I did. The film, Immortal Cupboard: In Search of Lorine Niedecker, is written and directed by Cathy Cook. It's full of gorgeous photography of Wisconsin flora and fauna, and offers an interesting if selective introduction to Niedecker's life and work. In this case, seeing is hearing, and I'd recommend it to people who want help hearing her poems. The blank space in her poems is well-served by the nature shots that comprise the film.

The film made me reread her for the first time in a long while, and discover how relevant she still is. "Poet's work", ironically, is a poem that sees in poetry a trade from which there are no layoffs. More of her work can be found here.