A Pentagram Production: The Poems of Henry Ponder
Naresh Ramchandani explains how we came to make a short film about one of Britain's most thoughtful, but lesser known, poets.
I don’t know about you, but my life affords me barely any time to think. The amount of attention I give to my family, my work and to my other duties and pleasures - all manifest through unending calls, meetings, texts, emails and to do lists which never seem to shorten - leaves me precious little time for contemplation. It wasn’t always so.
When I was younger, I used to consider the world around me, and notice things, and think things, such as no matter when you reach a place, your nose will have got there first, or the fact that a stopped clock will tell the right time twice a day. These were not idle thoughts but simple reflections on a world which I had time to attend to, be mindful of and curious about.
That’s why it was such a pleasure last year to discover a minor poet by the name of Henry Ponder, a man tweeting very short daily poems in which he contemplated his everyday world. Henry wrote about the restorative nature of sweeping a floor, and the brusqueness of the language of warning signs, and the inner-softness and vulnerability of a pain au raisin, and more. As I followed his poems, they became mini-mediations not just in his day but mine, reminding me think beyond my immediate preoccupations; reminding me to stop and smell life’s proverbial flowers.
I decided that this unknown poet deserved to be better known. I contacted him on Twitter and arranged to meet him. In person, he was a small, shy man shy with unkempt hair and thick-rimmed glasses. When I suggested the idea of making a very short film about him, he thought for a while, and then said “That would be kind.”
And so we starting filming. To honour Henry’s love of simplicity, director Chris Dada shot the film on a wind-up 16mm Bolex. Respecting Henry’s love of words, Harry Pearce created striking titles from old Swiss spelling tiles. Respecting Henry’s love of order, Steven Qua decided to animate the letters of the titles in order of their position in the alphabet. Honouring Henry’s fondness for the moment, Graeme Miller played a Henry Ponder theme tune on an old ukulele in two takes.
The resulting film, “Mind Your Head,” features seven poems by Ponder which touch on themes of Balance, Identity, Guilt, Intrusion, Empathy, Sacrifice and Tea. It was premiered at the Electric Cinema in London’s Portobello Road last Thursday morning, where a full house was quietly moved and given some pause to think.
Guests also received a paper called “All Things Considered,” a collection of 62 of Henry’s poems, loving designed by Angus Hyland and signed by the poet himself.
I hope you enjoy both the film and the paper and can use them as they were intended; to discover a minor poet who majors in everyday philosophy, and to put a little Ponder into your life.
