Festival of Bards (1978)

Filmmaker and underground journalist Richard Gaikowski chronicles on film the May 14, 1977 KFPA Poetry Festival which took place at the historic Hearst Greek Theater in Berkeley, CA. Famed beat poets such as Allen Ginsberg, accompanied by Peter Orlovsky on additional vocals and Peter Rowan on mandolin. Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Bly adds an interesting visual to his piece by donning multiple masks during his performance. Jessica Hagedorn is backed up by the West Coast Gangster Choir , Lewis MacAdams lectures humans from a coyote's perspective, and firebrand Alta mixes feminism and humor in her set, among others.