A few thoughts about poetry for National Poetry Month

Happy National Poetry Month! Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, this occasion was conceived to remind the public that poetry matters and that poets have a vital role to play in our culture. It has since become the largest literary celebration in the world, with millions of readers, students, teachers, librarians, booksellers, curators, publishers, and, of course, poets, marking poetry's important place in our lives. 

Through the centuries, humankind has reached for poetry in volatile times for a variety of reasons. We turn to it for solace and comfort, for inspiration and distraction, for sheer beauty of image and word music, to attenuate our loneliness and isolation, to remind us of our common humanity and the uncommon reach of our souls, to motivate us for change and revolution. Sometimes the volta of a poem is the vital lever we need to pivot around our dogging worries, to jolt us into action with a fresh resolve. 

It is also true to say that people sometimes find poetry obscure, that it can challenge us as readers. There is a sense in which we can get hung up on its explainability, however. Christopher Logue wisely uttered that “poetry cannot be defined, only experienced,” something which Billy Collins articulated memorably in his poem, “Introduction to Poetry.” One of the pleasures of reading poetry is mulling over its reverberations, over that which might elude us at first. Jane Hirshfield expresses this beautifully in Hiddenness, Uncertainty, Surprise: "A poem's comprehension does not require conscious consent. We extrapolate the existence of the riddle, not just its solution, from the clues, in a process mostly beneath the surface of awareness." If I find myself grappling with a poem – (even poets do this on occasion!) - I try to encounter the poem on its own terms, rather than dismiss it as arcane. “If a poem is completely confusing,” writes Rhian Williams in The Poetry Toolkit, “start with listening for its sounds, marking its rhythms, thinking about its form. These starting points can open up a route to a more satisfying understanding.”

As we confront the unchartered territory of a global pandemic, National Poetry Month is a welcome light to help us navigate through this darkness. In our recent history, poems such as W.H. Auden’s poem “September 1, 1939” which found the poet “uncertain and afraid” at the outbreak of World War II, gained new resonance in the wake of 9/11. Though it invited some controversy too, the poem, which moves beyond stasis, took on a quasi-religious status, with Auden “showing an affirming flame” at its end. Similarly, Brendan Kennelly’s poem “Begin” touched, and was shared by, many New Yorkers in the days after the attacks. In terms of its power to inspire revolution, we recall that poetry played a crucial part in the Peace Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Movement, the Gay Liberation Campaign and the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. During the more recent Arab Spring, four lines of poetry from Abu Al-Qasim Al-Shabi’s poem “Will to Live,” captured the emotions of Tunisian protesters in their struggle for democracy and proved a powerful, unifying cry for freedom: ‘If one day, a people desire to live, / then fate will answer their call / And their night will then begin to fade, / and their chains break and fall.’ This quatrain was repeatedly uttered, emblazoned on t-shirts and shared orally & across social media. I have written elsewhere on this blog about how the silenced women of Afghanistan are harnessing the power of the two-line landay form as a platform of resistance. 

Last year, in my role as Director of Cuirt International Festival of Literature, I was thrilled to be able to bring two powerful spoken word poets and activists to Galway audiences: Palestinian poet, Rafeef Ziadh and African-American poet, Patricia Smith. You can hear their gripping performance, which was hosted by Olivia O’Leary and recorded live at the Town Hall for RTE Radio 1’s Poetry Programme at this link. (Also note that Cúirt will be going digital this year and will be broadcast online and entirely free. Congratulations to new Director, Sasha de Buyl and all the festival team on a great initiative!).  

It is heart-warming that many people are currently sharing and exchanging poems again; poems such as "Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver with its potent lines “whoever you are, no matter how lonely, / the world offers itself to your imagination”, Wendell Berry's "The Peace of Wild Things" and John O’Donoghue’s “This is the time to be slow, / Lie low to the wall / Until the bitter weather passes.” The American poet and activist, Audre Lorde stated that “. . . poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of light within which we can predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change.” My hope is that our collective sharing of our favourite poems during this international crisis and beyond, will saturate the world with poetry and remind us of its very real power to inspire, comfort, delight and affirm. And, in so doing, illuminate the quality of light within our own lives. If you would like to receive a free daily poem in your inbox, I would encourage you to do sign up for up for a Poem-a-Day and also to subscribe to the Poetry Foundation's Poem of the Day. 

As a champion of poetry and poets, through the courses that I teach (‘Creative Writing’ to undergraduates and ‘Appreciation of Poetry’ for Adult Education at NUI Galway) and through the various arts events and activities I organise from time to time, I have assembled quite a storehouse of thoughts and ideas about the form, some of which I’d like to share with you here. I hope they might bring a little bit of comfort and inspiration at this time of uncertainty. 

On how poetry is born:

·      “A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.” – Robert Frost

·      “You can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in what people say on the bus, in the news, or just what’s in your heart.” – Carol Anne Duffy

·      “Poetry is everywhere; it just needs editing.” – James Tate

On what poetry is – expressed in a poem:

       ‘Poetry is that

which arrives at the intellect

by way of the heart.’

- R.S. Thomas

On the sensations of poetry – some ‘slanted truths’:

·      “If I read a book and it makes my body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it.” – Emily Dickinson

On poetry and the mind:

·      “Poetry is a great mental accelerator” – Joseph Brodsky

·      “Poetry is an espresso shot of thought” – Daljit Nagra

On poetry and the heart:

·      “Poetry is the universal language which the heart holds with nature and itself.” – William Hazlitt

On the uplifting nature of poetry:

·      “Poetry excites the moment with hope.” – Patrick Kavanagh

On poetry and humanity:

·      “A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone's knowledge of himself and the world around him.”  - Dylan Thomas

·      “It [poetry] is a widening of consciousness, an extension of humanity. We sense an ideal version when we read, and with it arm ourselves, to quarrel with reality.” – David Constantine

On poetry and music:

·      “Each word has a little music of its own” which “poetry arranges so it can be heard” - Kenneth Koch

 “The poet is the bearer of rhythm. In the infinite depths of the human spirit, which are beyond the reach of morality, law, society and the state, move sound-waves akin to the waves embracing the universe…” – Alexander Blok 

·      “Poetry is the music of being human.” – Carol Anne Duffy

 “Poetry atrophies when it gets too far away from music.” - Ezra Pound

On poetry and language:

·      “Poetry is language at its most distilled and powerful.” – Rita Dove

·      “Poetry is the art of using words charged with their utmost meaning.” – Dana Goia

       “Poetry is a fresh look and a fresh listen.” - Robert Frost

On poetry and silence:

·      “Poetry is the place where language in its silence is most beautifully articulated. Poetry is the language of silence… One way to invigorate and renew your language is to expose yourself to poetry.” – John O’Donoghue

·      “The true poem rests between the words.” ― Vanna Bonta

On poetry and the 'Poetic':

·      “All genuine poetry in my view is anti-poetry.” – Charles Simic

On poetry and truth:

“The ethical responsibility of the poet is emotional accuracy.” – Helen Vendler 

“The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth.” - Jean Cocteau

·      “A poet must never make a statement simply because it sounds poetically exciting; he must also believe it to be true.” – W. H. Auden

On poetry’s revolutionary power:

·      “Poetry is the lifeblood of rebellion, revolution, and the raising of consciousness.” - Alice Walker