Poetry & Politics

I've seen numerous events in New York at the 92Y, also known as the 92nd Street Y.

I applaud their commitment to the arts and especially their support and spotlight on poetry.

During the pandemic, their online series, Read by, has been a culturally rich respite from the muffled or non-existent noise of the world. A particular episode with Jenny Xie, reading from Adrienne Rich's Poetry & Commitment: An Essay, prompted me to write this post and to share Rich's essay with you. Her lecture, written for a 2006 conference on Poetry and Politics at Stirling University in Scotland, is the basis for this essay published by Norton in a single small volume.

I encourage you to listen to it in its entirety in the link below.

While I don't necessarily agree with Rich's statement, "poetry is not a cultural massage," (because I believe poetry can deliver a form of human relief in stressful and turbulent times), I do agree "poetry is a billboard and accompanies revolutions."

We've seen evidence of poetry's actions and subsequent poetic works evolve throughout political times. Why? Because the aesthetics of poetry often addresses injustices and atrocities: war, intolerance, bigotry, hatred, genocides, tyranny, etc. It challenges writers and poets alike to examine and reveal dangerous, outdated power structures that need alternative description.

"Poetry has been accused" of many things, Rich continues, when she reminds us that poetry is not elitist. Poetry is not only for the privileged or the elite. Poetry is written for humanity. I believe wholeheartedly that poetry can be the conduit which reminds us of things we have been forbidden to see in a way we may never have considered otherwise.

You can listen to this full episode of Read by from the 92Y here:

https://www.92y.org/archives/read-by-jenny-xie

#poetry #poetrylover #poets #poetries #poems