Last week I wrote about the “creativity portal”, an open antenna-like state where ideas and connections flow easily. Many artists describe it as feeling like the ideas are coming from outside their conscious self, either from a higher power or their own secret depths. It is a deeply fulfilling yet furtive, unpredictable state.

With this on the mind, I saw the Columbian tragicomedy Un Poeta and was shown two very different processes of creativity. The main character, Oscar, is a middle aged poet who hasn’t produced work for a decade so he fills the void through alcohol, delusions, and thinking everyone else is a sell out. The viewer clearly sees the portrait of a spiralling artist disconnected from their creativity and coping in ways that take them even further from what fulfils them.

Oscar eventually meets Yurlady, a 15 year old high school student living in the slums who has immense natural talent as a poet. Although she is outwardly understated and shy, her notebook is filled with poems that are simple yet deep, interfacing with the material difficulties of her life but also finding beauty and transcendence within them.

As a side note, It is interesting how most children are naturally creative and seem to lose that ability as they age. I wonder why that is?

Eventually Oscar takes on Yurlady as a protege and she sees, in full tragicomedy fashion, the dysfunction of how arts funding works, the deeply imbedded sexism and classism of the art world, the macho clashing of egos- none of which has anything to do with the poetry itself. It made me reflect of my own long journey of relearning how to naively enjoy making music after seeing the structures of the music industry up close.

As a movie, I thought it did a great job asking the biting questions but I do wish it was a little less bitter towards poetry itself. I would have loved to hear more of Yurlady’s poems, or seen a little of the positive, transformative impact that making art can have on a person’s psyche. There are little hints of this in the film’s closing chapter but perhaps Un Poeta works best a cautionary tale.