A number of artists have taken inspiration from William Stafford and created works based on his poetry, including dance, lyrical music, broadsides, illustration, photography, sculpture, television--and of course--poetry.




Musicians

John Gorka (website)

"Where No Monument Stands" from the album So Dark you See, is based on Stafford poem "At the Un-National Monument Along the Canadian Border

Paula Sinclar (website)

  • Sinclair's album The Good Horse contains poems by Stafford and other Oregon poets set to music (download album)

"The Animal that Drank up Sound" 
  • (Read the poem in prose form at Sinclair's website; and see the adaptation of the same poem into a children's book above.)


"Even in the Desert"



Methow River Poems

The National Park Service commissioned Stafford to write poems for roadside signs along the Methow River in Washington State. The poems are collected in the book Even in Quiet Places. 

Friends of William Stafford has an article on the Methow River Poems in their newsletter (click here and download Issue 1 for 2006).

Here is a video of one artist's interpretation of a Methow poem.


Sculpture

Sculpture

Stafford Stones

Basalt pillars with lines from Stafford poems by Frank Boyden; 
Gallery Without Walls at Foothills Park in Lake Oswego, Oregon

Stafford Basin Trail

    • Photo of "The Well Rising" engraved on pillar along a wilderness trail in Oregon on Flickr.

FEATURED: Craig Goodworth

Drawings inspired by Stafford's poems

Documentary Films

Every War Has Two Losers by Haydn Reiss 

  • Tells of Stafford's years as a conscientious objector in World War 2 and pacifist beliefs through his poems and journal entries.
  • View website to find screenings or to purchase DVD.
  • Review from DailyKos.
Trailer

William Stafford & Robert Bly: A Literary Friendship by Haydn Reiss 
  • included as bonus film on Every War Has Two Losers DVD (Audio excerpts)

Life & Poems by Mike Markee & Vince Wixon

  • A collection of three documentaries  (view website to purchase DVD)
Excerpt


Illustrated Books

Debra Frasier illustrated the poem "The Animal that Drank up Sound" as a children's book. See more illustrations at Frasier's website. 



Listening to the River: Seasons in the American West places the photography of Robert Adams along side poems by Stafford. View some of the photographs at the Yale University Art Gallery website.

Poems Dedicated to William Stafford

Broadsides

  • Individual poems by Stafford, some illustrated by artists, are available for viewing and purchase from the Friends of William Stafford broadsides page.

Television

"A Story that Could be True" in the pilot episode of The Riches.


IMAGE: Bill Stafford with Guitar; Courtesy of William Stafford Archives, Lewis & Clark College

Sign in  |  Terms  |  Report Abuse  |  Print page  |  Powered by Google Sites