National Poetry Month was introduced in 1996 as a way to raise awareness of poetry and celebrate its importance in American culture. As part of poetry month in grade school, I vaguely remember participating in "Poem In Your Pocket Day" then years later less vaguely recall folding a Merwin poem into a tiny square for work at the Library.
Sometimes I lump poetry in with modern dance and abstract art -- slightly under appreciated, perhaps because of their perceived inaccessibility. I remember first seeing a Paul Taylor dance and thinking "I don't get it." It didn't have a narrative, no clear storyline or program notes to shed light on what I saw on stage. It was hard not having an explanation and no tangible definition of what was happening. I'm not the only one who ever felt that way. In terms of gaining new audiences, the dance scene struggles with this stigma all the time and while I know less about visual art, I'm betting it can be an issue in that field too.
The form of poetry itself is a limitation when it comes to audiences. People are naturally more comfortable reading prose. So right off the bat, it looks like a challenge. And in a lot of ways it is. Poems can be full of unknowns and that is exactly what I love about them. They give you the space to explore what you feel from them and contemplate what the poet meant as he tinkered with specific words.
Anyway, my babble is just trying to explain that we shouldn't be scared of poems. Their ambiguities are their beauty. That said, I can't begin to count how many poems received a huge question mark in their margins while at Hamilton. It's frustrating when you are studying them, but when you can just savor them, it's a nice escape from wherever you are.
No comments:
Post a Comment