I see the work that went into writing this and really enjoyed reading it. I initially thought a lot of the context would be lost on me, but I see some parallels to how people perceive opera and the classical music industry as a whole. I was also reminded that the existence of the art song, the song cycle, and even some references in operatic works would not exist without the poetry inspiring the work(many songs in my repertoire have text directly taken from poems). Anyone who thinks poetry is a dying art is vastly misinformed.
Thanks so much, Dan! Please do listen to Emerson's 'Art' essay. It's the essay I have read more than any other. There were a couple years where I listened to an audio recording of 'Art' at least monthly.
This is a wonderful conversation and I wish I could digest it in one sitting. I recall working with Postman's text back in the early 90s. A friend and I were in grad school (as mid career adults) and convened conversations on the issues with television. We used McLuhan (who coined the continually apt phrase, "The Medium is the message" - which could be the overarching theme of your OMM), and Bill McKibbin's "The Age of Missing Information," and drew fro our friendship with Ivan Illich to engage in rich (but I am sure fruitless in the scheme of things) conversations about the totalizing effects of TV — which pale in comparison to what has followed.
But the conversation about poetry is th point, right? I agree with those who adhere to the notion that poetry is "worthless" in that it (largely) exists outside of the economy. It is one of the few things left that the economy has not transformed into a product. (Largely. The Insta-poet phenomena is an example of folks trying to cash in on poetry and some have coopted the idea of poetry enough to make a living. And, of course, there is Amanda Gorman, who was a fine poet prior to her Inaugural address earned her a $10mm contract. The result has been, well, no poetry of note.)
I think the distinction "American poetry" is important because in many countries/cultures, poetry is still a rich peoples' tradition with the best poets as cultural heroes. (Ukraine has more monuments to poets than generals, from what I read). I think a case can be made that what's working with "American Poetry" is the "America" part.
So much more to respond to but great work on your part to make this conversation so vital.
Thanks for this thoughtful comment, Dick. I wholeheartedly agree that this is an American problem. I've spoken with many poets who confirmed that, even in contemporary times, poetry holds a special place in society and demands a certain level of respect.
I'll admit that it's only relatively recently (with thanks to Tim Green) that I became aware of Postman's work. Somehow millennials didn't get the message (bad pun sadly intended).
We'll be unpacking a bit of thoughts related to this piece today, I suspect, on The Poetry Space__ hosted by Katie & Tim, in discussion of The Value of Criticism in American Poetry today.
I see the work that went into writing this and really enjoyed reading it. I initially thought a lot of the context would be lost on me, but I see some parallels to how people perceive opera and the classical music industry as a whole. I was also reminded that the existence of the art song, the song cycle, and even some references in operatic works would not exist without the poetry inspiring the work(many songs in my repertoire have text directly taken from poems). Anyone who thinks poetry is a dying art is vastly misinformed.
Thanks for this thoughtful response, Katie! All art forms really are interrelated :)
Wonderful essay. Thank you so much. I am going to did out my Emerson now.
Dig out
I realized :)
So grateful for this. What a smorgasbord of food for thought. Looking forward to re-reading and/or listening to Emerson's "Art." Thank you.
Thanks so much, Dan! Please do listen to Emerson's 'Art' essay. It's the essay I have read more than any other. There were a couple years where I listened to an audio recording of 'Art' at least monthly.
This is a wonderful conversation and I wish I could digest it in one sitting. I recall working with Postman's text back in the early 90s. A friend and I were in grad school (as mid career adults) and convened conversations on the issues with television. We used McLuhan (who coined the continually apt phrase, "The Medium is the message" - which could be the overarching theme of your OMM), and Bill McKibbin's "The Age of Missing Information," and drew fro our friendship with Ivan Illich to engage in rich (but I am sure fruitless in the scheme of things) conversations about the totalizing effects of TV — which pale in comparison to what has followed.
But the conversation about poetry is th point, right? I agree with those who adhere to the notion that poetry is "worthless" in that it (largely) exists outside of the economy. It is one of the few things left that the economy has not transformed into a product. (Largely. The Insta-poet phenomena is an example of folks trying to cash in on poetry and some have coopted the idea of poetry enough to make a living. And, of course, there is Amanda Gorman, who was a fine poet prior to her Inaugural address earned her a $10mm contract. The result has been, well, no poetry of note.)
I think the distinction "American poetry" is important because in many countries/cultures, poetry is still a rich peoples' tradition with the best poets as cultural heroes. (Ukraine has more monuments to poets than generals, from what I read). I think a case can be made that what's working with "American Poetry" is the "America" part.
So much more to respond to but great work on your part to make this conversation so vital.
Thanks for this thoughtful comment, Dick. I wholeheartedly agree that this is an American problem. I've spoken with many poets who confirmed that, even in contemporary times, poetry holds a special place in society and demands a certain level of respect.
I'll admit that it's only relatively recently (with thanks to Tim Green) that I became aware of Postman's work. Somehow millennials didn't get the message (bad pun sadly intended).
We'll be unpacking a bit of thoughts related to this piece today, I suspect, on The Poetry Space__ hosted by Katie & Tim, in discussion of The Value of Criticism in American Poetry today.
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-poetry-space/id1675796320