When I opened the June 18, 2007, edition of Time, I was excited to see an article entitled “Poems for the People” with a picture of young champions from the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest. This excitement was quickly dispelled when I read Lev Grossman’s description of poetry as “the spinach in America’s media diet.” He comforts readers: “Chances are, you don’t read much poetry, at least not the new stuff. Don’t feel bad, hardly anybody does. To hit the best-seller list for verse, a book has to sell only around 30 copies.” As a poet, a writer of the “new stuff” desperately trying to get my manuscript published for a chance at selling 30 copies (which I’m confident I could do easily), this dismissal of contemporary poetry and its value to readers made me want to crawl under my covers, sulk for a while, and then, well, write a poem about it.
Grossman cites John Barr, president of the Poetry Foundation, a controversial and well-heeled literati who claims that poetry is going down the tubes because of all the sullen hacks infesting MFA programs and churning out substandard and inaccessible works. He is a former Wall Street investor, author of six books of poetry, teacher, and now handler of the $200 million endowment bestowed by heiress Ruth Lilly, great-granddaughter of Eli Lilly, who founded the pharmaceutical company that brought us Prozac, Cialis, methodone, and others. Barr wants more people to read poetry and for it to be less depressing. Now if he could just figure out how to get people to swallow it….
Barr is one of many who has recently heralded the death of poetry. I’m glad that he does not flinch from addressing some obvious problems in academia and the study of literature. Yes, some poetry is dull. Yes, some poetry is impenetrable. Yes, some poetry is limited and stale. But what bothers me is that he, seemingly without reservation, perpetuates myths about all poetry and poets: they are disorganized, irrelevant, morose, inaccessible, and slaves to academia. Grossman ends his article saying that “Even if you don’t agree with Barr’s solutions, he has admitted a fundamental and cultural fact: that something has changed, that the great voices of our time no longer speak in verse.” If Barr were doing his job properly, he would not leave the argument in this sad condition, bailing out the water but ultimately announcing that the ship is sunk.
Poetry, as a cultural institution, is in no worse shape than, say, historical museums, art galleries, music programs and orchestras, dancers, and schools. Poets are not just competing with television, the Internet, and iPods. Poets are competing with other purveyors of entertainment and culture, including other poets. People are working more, have less and less free time and money, and yet the options for spending this time and money continue to increase. Of course, no one large group is reading poetry. People, once they have graduated from high school, are under no requirement to read poetry. But the desire, I believe, is there. Don’t blame poets for crushing this desire (or MFA programs or school teachers), blame the overwhelming obligations and opportunities of living in a democracy. We have so much to choose from, and poets, who are truly considering their audience, must work under this weight, acknowledge this, and decide in what direction to take their poetry.
We need all kinds of poets. We need dirty limerick writers and experimental wind-bags. We need schools that inflict poetry on students, and individuals who decide to continue reading in spite of their “education.” We need poetry on the buses, but we also need it in volumes that the devoted reader can find and cherish. We need poets in the schools, not just universities and literary presses. We need poets in business and other cultural institutions. We need John Barr and people who will respond violently to him. We need more liberal arts in higher education instead of insisting that students specialize immediately. We need college English classes that are more than remediation for the failures of high school English. We need money to fund schools and the arts in order to improve the quality of our educational system as a whole. All of this is happening, but slowly.
Each generation on its way out wants to take its toys with it. John Barr is nearing the end of his second career. It has always been the role of the elderly to mourn the passing of time and the changes they’ve seen. As the Boomers get ready to retire from positions of leadership, we will continue to hear about the decrepit state of _______ (insert field of your choice). Just don’t let that stop you. Keep writing, reading, and supporting the arts. Soon enough, you’ll be old and can complain about the kids too.
Grossman cites John Barr, president of the Poetry Foundation, a controversial and well-heeled literati who claims that poetry is going down the tubes because of all the sullen hacks infesting MFA programs and churning out substandard and inaccessible works. He is a former Wall Street investor, author of six books of poetry, teacher, and now handler of the $200 million endowment bestowed by heiress Ruth Lilly, great-granddaughter of Eli Lilly, who founded the pharmaceutical company that brought us Prozac, Cialis, methodone, and others. Barr wants more people to read poetry and for it to be less depressing. Now if he could just figure out how to get people to swallow it….
Barr is one of many who has recently heralded the death of poetry. I’m glad that he does not flinch from addressing some obvious problems in academia and the study of literature. Yes, some poetry is dull. Yes, some poetry is impenetrable. Yes, some poetry is limited and stale. But what bothers me is that he, seemingly without reservation, perpetuates myths about all poetry and poets: they are disorganized, irrelevant, morose, inaccessible, and slaves to academia. Grossman ends his article saying that “Even if you don’t agree with Barr’s solutions, he has admitted a fundamental and cultural fact: that something has changed, that the great voices of our time no longer speak in verse.” If Barr were doing his job properly, he would not leave the argument in this sad condition, bailing out the water but ultimately announcing that the ship is sunk.
Poetry, as a cultural institution, is in no worse shape than, say, historical museums, art galleries, music programs and orchestras, dancers, and schools. Poets are not just competing with television, the Internet, and iPods. Poets are competing with other purveyors of entertainment and culture, including other poets. People are working more, have less and less free time and money, and yet the options for spending this time and money continue to increase. Of course, no one large group is reading poetry. People, once they have graduated from high school, are under no requirement to read poetry. But the desire, I believe, is there. Don’t blame poets for crushing this desire (or MFA programs or school teachers), blame the overwhelming obligations and opportunities of living in a democracy. We have so much to choose from, and poets, who are truly considering their audience, must work under this weight, acknowledge this, and decide in what direction to take their poetry.
We need all kinds of poets. We need dirty limerick writers and experimental wind-bags. We need schools that inflict poetry on students, and individuals who decide to continue reading in spite of their “education.” We need poetry on the buses, but we also need it in volumes that the devoted reader can find and cherish. We need poets in the schools, not just universities and literary presses. We need poets in business and other cultural institutions. We need John Barr and people who will respond violently to him. We need more liberal arts in higher education instead of insisting that students specialize immediately. We need college English classes that are more than remediation for the failures of high school English. We need money to fund schools and the arts in order to improve the quality of our educational system as a whole. All of this is happening, but slowly.
Each generation on its way out wants to take its toys with it. John Barr is nearing the end of his second career. It has always been the role of the elderly to mourn the passing of time and the changes they’ve seen. As the Boomers get ready to retire from positions of leadership, we will continue to hear about the decrepit state of _______ (insert field of your choice). Just don’t let that stop you. Keep writing, reading, and supporting the arts. Soon enough, you’ll be old and can complain about the kids too.
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