A Poet Un poeta

Synopsis

Oscar, an aging wannabe poet who never quite broke through, is past his prime. He drinks too much, his relationship with his daughter is in dire straits, he has no career prospects, and he is living with his mother. He takes a teaching job at a high school in hopes of putting his life back together. There he meets Yurlady, a promising poet from a lower-class family whose writing captures his attention. Attempting to redeem himself both personally and professionally, he decides to take her under his wing and mentor her through a program for talented young writers. Yurlady’s writing is met with instant acclaim, and she’s hastily shepherded into the spotlight—but when the attention proves too much for her, the situation begins to spiral out of Oscar’s control.

At once an honest portrait of ambition and failure and a farcical sendup of institutional exploitation, A Poet thoughtfully dissects the class and power dynamics at play in the arts world.