Jack Skelley and Made in L.A. 2020 artist Sabrina Tarasoff discuss the 1983 documentary Fear of Poetry. Fear of Poetry is an improvisatory 40-minute foray into a fervent, formative period in the lives of poets such as Dennis Cooper, Benjamin Weissman, Amy Gerstler, and Bob Flanagan, who took part in Cooper’s famed Wednesday Night Poetry readings. Directed by Gail Kaszynski, the film draws on archival footage from those gatherings, including interviews and readings, to present a snapshot of Venice in the 1980s: a chorus of punks, poets, artists, and performers co-existing in a place where, according to Flanagan, “love is still possible.”

In conjunction with the exhibition Made in L.A. 2020: a version.