Director Richard Yeagley’s documentary short, In Need of Seawater, is an autobiographical piece about the contemporary poet Mark Anthony Thomas. The premise is that Thomas is going to a friend’s home to give a solo performance of his work. During several of the recitations, filmmaker Yeagley slices in imagery of the young man Thomas once was, turning Thomas’s spoken words into a piece of lived history.
Here, Thomas reflects on his earliest work, The Poetic Repercussion, from 20 years ago, which helped define him as a person and an artist. This particular work serves as a memorial to a young Black man trying to make sense of America and his place in it. “Ocean Tides” is about a woman he fell in love with. “Child Support Check Marks” captures the day the child support checks stopped coming and what that absence means. Other pieces explore identity and value (“Black Man’s Work”), the anxiety of an early AIDS test (“Ink Blot Testing”), and the everyday rituals that become lifelines, such as “The Barber Shop,” where community and self-definition meet in a familiar space.
“…an autobiographical piece about the contemporary poet Mark Anthony Thomas.”
Poetry is not necessarily my thing. I’ve reviewed several documentaries over my years here at Film Threat, including In Need of Seawater. This is probably one of the most accessible poetry films I’ve seen, because Mark Anthony Thomas paints such vivid pictures of his experiences as a young man navigating life in America. It’s easy to see, and live through, his words.
As with any exceptional poet, his work is thoughtful and, at times, tough to hear, but it speaks directly to Thomas’s lived experience. In Need of Seawater adds imagery that both enhances the performance and complements Thomas’s work. The staging of Thomas’s performance in the home and on film is brilliant as well.
For more information, visit the In Need of Seawater official website.
"…probably one of the most accessible poetry films I've seen..."
