Why poems can help counter despair and apathy

Poetry for uncertain times

In times of crisis, many turn to poetry for comfort--and also for galvanizing inspiration. The Guardian pulled together five poems to help counter despair—and apathy—in the days following Trump's election.

But why do we seek out poems? The editor of Poetry magazine attempts to explain poetry's allure in times of war and uncertainty, to chart the intersection between politics and art, between poetry and activism. "Sooner or later, we’ll find that poetry has been waiting for us."

The planet goes on being round. pic.twitter.com/Yd2BgX8abG
— Courtney Enlow (@courtenlow) November 9, 2016

Nov 14, 2016

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Poetry in the age of Trump

Edited by Emma Winsor Wood

The Lord is My Shepherd, Eastman Johnson (1863). Credit: Smithsonian American Art Museum.

"We have seen a black president, and we have seen what kind of president comes after a black president." Poet Terrance Hayes on race and poetry at the 2016 National Book Awards.

Nov 21, 2016

Poetry isn’t politics. But as my students helped remind me, it can be the fertile soil for our better selves.

An English professor at Iowa on the challenges of teaching poetry in the post-Trump era.
↩︎ Slate

Nov 21, 2016

"I was an illegitimate child and being picked to be a national poet is a pretty 'legitimate' thing." Scotland's first black national poet talks about adoption, belonging, and her country.

Nov 14, 2016

Death to the New Yorker (Poem)

"The New Yorker poem" is a kind of poem all poets know, and many hate. Abraham Adams at Triple Canopy outlines the evolution of "the New Yorker poem," from doggerel about panhandlers (He juggles the nickels / And jingles the dimes / And duly dispenses the quarters) and dog shows—you know, the kind of stuff we can all relate to—to a "communiqué on experience" that assumes both reader and writer share a certain, specific cultural vocabulary.

Sep 15, 2016

A GPS safety app designed to help would-be immigrants find water and food as they cross the Mexican-US border also includes a series of poems for spiritual sustenance.

Sep 7, 2016

Shuffle Off This Mortal Combover

Trump has taken on an unexpected literary role—that of the muse. In the past year, he and his combover have served as the subject for over two thousand poems on the website Hello Poetry. The website is free to join and allows users to post anything they’ve written.

Sep 7, 2016

Madam President, where has all the funding gone for arts in the schools? Could those kuts be the reesen we are all getin dummer?

If 50 writers sent letters to the president, this is what they’d say.
↩︎ Poets & Writers

Sep 7, 2016