Why does poetry matter today?
Poetry requires us to be humble and beholden to something other than our own opinion. That’s important. There’s too much in our 21st century lives that is telling us we’re the most important thing, that our initial gut reaction is incredibly valuable and not vulnerable, and that our opinions as consumers are more important than just about anything else about us. A poem says, “No, no. You have feelings. You have fears. You have questions. Let’s get back to the voice and the vocabulary of being human.”
.@TIME talks with Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith for #NationalPoetryMonth! https://t.co/cCyNrBXFEZ pic.twitter.com/SmVuQL0ksl
— Temple Libraries (@TempleLibraries) April 11, 2018