Jim Jarmusch’s favourite poets
Among the auteurs who shaped the riveting landscape of American independent cinema, Jim Jarmusch will always be hailed as one of its greatest pioneers. Known for his incredible masterpieces, such as Stranger than Paradise and Down by Law, Jarmusch’s unique approach to the cinematic medium had a wide-ranging impact on the consciousness of multiple generations of artists. Through minimalistic frameworks that prioritise the construction of unforgettable cinematic atmospheres, Jarmusch introduced an alternate form of storytelling to American audiences who were used to a different definition of cinema.
While the American director is routinely praised for his originality, Jarmusch also has a lot of cinematic predecessors. When asked about his favourite films of all time, he cited the works of geniuses such as Akira Kurosawa, F.W. Murnau and Robert Bresson, among others. However, cinema isn’t his only source of inspiration. Jarmusch’s artistic sensibilities are also influenced by literature, especially the works of writers like Honore de Balzac and Marcel Proust.
During a conversation with Time, the filmmaker was asked to talk about his favourite poets for those who wanted to fall in love with poetry. Jarmusch began: “I would start with Dante. I would start with the knowledge that Dante wrote in vernacular. He was writing in street language, so he was the equivalent, almost, of hip-hop. He was in the street. So Dante is one of the most exquisite. I can’t read Italian, but even in translation, a good translation, he’s the man.”
After kicking off your journey with Dante, Jarmusch recommends that you check out the infinitely magnificent works of Arthur Rimbaud. The director continued: “Then I would say – read Arthur Rimbaud, the teenage poet who stopped writing at the age of 19, who wanted to use language in a way that could completely turn around your idea of what your senses receive. A really revolutionary poet, artist, whatever—what a strange child poet he was!”
When it comes to American poetry, Jarmusch especially loves the works of Wallace Stevens – the fascinating poet who was an insurance executive by profession. The director explained: “And then I would jump to—well, there’s Wallace Stevens, who was an insurance executive. When he won some kind of award, one of his colleagues at the company where he worked responded by saying, ‘Wait a minute, Wally writes poetry?’ No one had a clue. And he’s one of our most beautiful philosophical poets.”
Check out the list below.
Jim Jarmusch’s favourite poets
- William Carlos Williams
- Wallace Stevens
- Dante Alighieri
- Arthur Rimbaud
- John Ashbery
- Kenneth Koch
- Frank O’Hara
Although many of Jarmusch’s films are inherently poetic, the project where he directly deals with the subject of poetry is his 2016 masterpiece – Paterson. Starring Adam Driver as a bus driver/poet, the film explores the intricate beauty of mundanity and questions the rigid ideas of glory and recognition that most artists dream of.
The film also connects with the legacy of William Carlos Williams, even though Jarmusch isn’t really a fan of Williams’ eponymous epic. The director admitted: “[William Carlos Williams’] book Paterson, by the way, is not one of my favourite poems—in fact, it goes over my head. I don’t understand a lot of it. But at the beginning of it, a man is a metaphor for the city of Paterson, and vice-versa. And I thought that’s just a beautiful idea.”
