San Diego Poet Rae Armantrout

PBS News Hour Wants Our Help

I am a poet. So lately, I notice poetry taking a front seat these days at some interesting venues. And foremost among them, the PBS News Hour.

For instance, a few years ago, PBS News Hour called asking for our help. In this case, they wanted Crystal Pyramid Productions to videotape Pulitzer-Prize-winning San Diego Poet Rae Armantrout at her home in San Diego. So therefore, our DP Mark Schulze answered that call as a “one-man band.”

DP Mark Schulze, One-Man Band

san diego poet rae armantrout interview by mark schulze director of photography camera operator multi camera shoot sheraton conference event

Director of Photography Mark Schulze has operated a broadcast camera since 1981.  For his expertise, PBS selected him to shoot the video and B-Roll of Ms. Armantrout. On this occasion, Schulze brought his Sony XDCam rig, sound and lighting. A “One-Man Band” is a camera operator adept at lighting, gripping, and collecting sound.  Indeed, Mark focused on video and sound as Ms. Armantrout spoke about her two collections of poetry. The Wesleyan University Press published “Versed” 2009 which in part deals with her illness. And “Money Shot,” is her slim volume published in 2010, in which many of her poems look at the economic downturn.

Who is Rae?

I found a Wikipedia post about her. San Diego Poet Rae Armantrout (born 13 April 1947) is an American poet generally associated with the Language poets. Armantrout was born in Vallejo, California.But she grew up in San Diego. She has published ten books of poetry and has also been featured in a number of major anthologies. Armantrout currently teaches at the University of California, San Diego, where she is Professor of Poetry and Poetics.

Award-Winning San Diego Poet

On March 11, 2010, Poet Rae Armantrout won the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award for her book of poetry Versed published by the Wesleyan University Press. Consequently, the book was also nominated for the National Book Award. It later earned the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Armantrout’s most recent collection, Just Saying, was published in February 2013. She has received numerous other awards for her poetry, including an award in poetry from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts in 2007 and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008.

In conclusion, here is where you can see San Diego poet Rae Armantrout as she appeared on the PBS News Hour with interview and B-roll videotaped by DP Mark Schulze.

The Reinaissance of Poetry by Patricia Mooney


Patty Mooney is a VP, Video Producer, Sound Technician, Teleprompter Operator and Video Editor at award-winning San Diego Video Production Company, Crystal Pyramid Productions. For more adventures, enjoy our blog, Diary of a Video Production Crew