http://www.npr.org/2014/09/05/344088108/where-have-all-the-poets-gone
does poetry matter anymore?
is anyone writing anything important or provocative anymore?
do prose writers even care about poetry?
does my ass look fat in these jeans?
thought i'd open this up to the roundtable...For centuries, poets were the mouthpieces railing loudly against injustice. They gave voice to the hardships and evils facing people everywhere. From Langston Hughes to Jack Kerouac and Federico García Lorca — so many — verse once served as a vehicle for expressing social and political dissent. There was fervor, there was anger. And it was embraced: See, there was a time when the poetry of the day carried with it the power of newspapers and radio programs. It was effective, even as it was overtly political. What has happened?
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You could argue that, on a whole, people are reading less and less poetry. But why is that? Fact is, although there is more poetry being published than ever before — from anthologies to chapbooks and literary magazines — it lacks a viable mainstream presence. What was once important has now been confined to a subculture, something primarily read in workshops and universities.
Sure, the age of social media has changed the way we approach the written word. The introduction of tweets and status updates has significantly altered the way we consume literature of all sorts. But it would be misguided to not place some blame on the state of the art form itself. Could it be that modern poetry has lost its vibrancy? I ask: Has poetry ceased to penetrate our national consciousness because we are no longer stirred by what's being said? When was the last time a poet made enough noise to be threatened with censorship?
does poetry matter anymore?
is anyone writing anything important or provocative anymore?
do prose writers even care about poetry?
does my ass look fat in these jeans?