A Cinematographic and Literary Experience
When Nona Arola, the artistic director of the Viñas de Moià Festival, shared her experience of visiting the cinema to see ‘The Dead Poets Club’, she revealed an extraordinary passion for cinematography and poetry. Accompanied by her two cinephile and literary pilgrimage companions, all three philology students at the time, they lived a unique experience at the Alexandra cinema on Rambla Catalunya in Barcelona. Armed with pen, notebook and a great passion for literature, they absorbed every minute of Peter Weir’s film, capturing literary and poetic quotes that filled the air of the room.
The Research of Poetry
After capturing the wonderful literary and poetic quotations from the film, Nona Arola and her colleagues embarked on an intensive search at the Library of the University of Barcelona. They spent hours rummaging through books to find the poems and works that matched the quotes captured on film. This dedication culminated in the publication of a book entitled ‘Anthology of the Dead Poets Club. Carpe Diem’, which was a publishing success and has remained relevant for over three decades.
The Validity of an Initiatic Experience
The era of 1989-90 did not have today’s technological conveniences, such as the immediate availability of movies through online platforms. This led to the need to manually capture the poetic richness of ‘The Dead Poets Club’. Despite the challenges, the passion for this cinematic and literary experience has remained valid over time. The film remains an initiatory experience, connecting with timeless classics and inspiring identification with the characters who teach to embrace the present moment, as reflected in the motto ‘carpe diem’.
