Ted Kotcheff always had two overriding artistic passions in his life: to make films and to write poetry. For the greater part of his life, he has directed a panoply of feature films that cover a wide range of genres, from comedies such as Weekend at Bernie's and Fun with Dick and Jane, to intense dramas such as Wake in Fright, First Blood and North Dallas Forty. He has achieved significant artistic recognition, with two of his films, Wake in Fright and The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz receiving the ultimate accolade of the film world, being declared Cannes Classics. He was inducted into the Canadian Film and TV Hall of Fame. Law & Order: Special the TV series that he produced for 12 years and frequently directed, won many awards. But always, he harbored an unrelenting passion to fulfill his lifelong dream to create poetry. So in 2011, he authored his first volume of verse, followed by two others. This is his fourth volume: the poems within are quintessentially different from all that has gone before, poems that achieve a philosophical profundity reflecting a passionate lifetime involvement with life, socially, culturally and politically. Ted Kotcheff has recently published his memoirs, entitled "Director's Cut", reflecting his colorful, dramatic, diverting and diverse, variegated life.
