It all began four years ago -- way back in 2018. Artist extraordinaire Judy Joy Jones made a life-changing comment that I will always remember. “You can be Poet Laureate of the Movies,” she said to me. 

Those few words meant a lot to yours truly. And they started me thinking about why there is no honorable position like that for cinema, especially because many films are poetry in motion. Well, believe it or not, that line of thinking ended up with my award-winning CINEMA STANZAS TWO: Poet Laureate of the Movies e-book, which turned out to be a kind of audition.  

Below is the poem describing my thoughts prior to putting together the second Cinema Stanzas offering.  

A Movie Poet Laureate?

No one is named – at least not yet.

I’d love the role before I go.

An honor it would be, I know.

Movies force me to do the crime

of turning things into a rhyme.

My film poems come to me at night.

I write them down and all seems right.

But if this Post remains unfilled

my review poems will not be stilled.

They’ll keep flowing without regret

Films will go on -- and I won’t fret.

Judy Joy Jones, my thanks to you

for inspiration and all you do

to cheer on artists and their work.

Please keep it up. Don’t ever shirk!

Happily, CINEMA STANZAS TWO: Poet Laureate of the Movies went on to win First Place in the e-book Poetry category at the 2019 Dragonfly Book Awards. Thanks to the judges as well as to my publisher Denise Fitzgerald Cassino for her magical touch, to Richard Jack Smith for his great Foreword, to Brian T Shirley for his fun cover rhyme, and to all my friends who supported this project by purchasing the book or reviewing it or commenting on it or giving me permission to use their quotes in our PR campaign -- or simply cheering me on. I felt honored, blessed and excited all at the same time.

This second book in the Cinema Stanzas series presents over 70 movie reviews/film poems I have written since the first book was published, plus several other movie related poems.  Films of various genres receive my special treatment, which emphasizes rhythm and rhyme. .

As with the first Cinema Stanzas, I wrote this book to serve as a fun resource for fans of both movies and poetry. Published by BestsellerServices.com, Cinema Stanzas Two is available from Amazon’s Kindle Store at this link https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WX3NKYC .

Composing poems can be a curse.

It fills your mind but not your purse.

Those sleepless nights with words that rhyme

can lead to ruin or fame sublime.

But when the poems are film reviews,

that’s not the path most critics use.

A Movies Poet Laureate?

Is that what I am aiming at?

Some dear fans have already claimed

it’s what I truly should be named.

To mention that just makes me blush.

Don’t plan on it or even rush.

But read my poems so you will know

if the answer is yes or no.

*****