I deplore the lack of interest in poetry in the U.S. Does this go back to creative education?
Yes, I think so. Not enough teachers know how to excite young people...beyond the elementary school age...in the joys and challenges in reading (and writing) poetry. We've had a long line of poet laureates attempting to inspire the young...or not so young. Even among my own circle of friends, the interest is minimal. Another thought seems obvious...that our country is so geared toward toward money-making and power...supposedly in the interest of pragmatism...that the arts in general, and poetry in particular...are seen as extraneous and not part of the practical quotidian. Is it any wonder that other societies look upon us as little more than naive, uncultured, not to be respected?
Norm's words on poetry echo my own thoughts on the subject. His process of writing is much like my own. We each find access to the imagination by letting go of conscious control of images and even of language. There is much to be trusted at a subliminal level. While my poetry tends to weave in a non-linear fashion, Norm follows his own forest of trees or more likely streets in the city...like Walgrove or Crescent Heights.
ReplyDeleteJust to keep the record straight...the above comment is not from Norm's Norms...but from Peggy's Blemished Thoughts. The ways of the computer are murky indeed to this aged mind.
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