By "Souvik Nath"
"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for". It's been a couple of years since I watched Dead Poet's Society, but this monologue by the character of John Keating stayed with me long after the movie concluded. When I rewatched this movie last week, I finally decided this is what I am writing about. Poetry. Mostly because during these strange times, poetry is keeping me sane.
Basically, poetry is a form of literature based on the interplay of words and rhythm. But more or less, poetry is indescribable and hence my favourite definition of poetry was given by Carl Sandburg, who described it as “an echo asking a shadow to dance.” It is the oldest form of human literature, arguably as old as history itself. But literature, in any form, is never rigid. And hence, poetry evolved through the ages of human existence, taking different forms.
But as the title of this article suggests, I am not going to stress on the technical terminologies, which in fact will end up making this article look like a boring scholarly article. What I decided to focus on, is this simple question: "Is poetry still relevant in the 21st century?"
On my first day at RIE, during the orientation programme, our English professor said; "Poetry is a lost art now." This sentence made me wonder a lot about poetry until I stumbled upon this Nobel Prize Banquet speech by TS Eliot. "To enjoy poetry belonging to another language is to enjoy an understanding of the people to whom that language belongs, an understanding we can get in no other way", Eliot said in that speech. And more or less, it means poetry will remain significant as long as humans feel the need to express and understand.
In the 20th century, the dominant focus of poetry is on realism, stressing on great societal changes, language fragments, aligning the imagery with the times. Modernist creations like Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons (1914) and T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land (1922) are disjointed, at times difficult to follow, but capture the uncertainty of their day.
In the 1980s, slam poetry emerged as a major poetic expression, which emphasizes performance and audience participation. Although the other forms like lyrical, ballads, and epics are still relevant. Epics like Derek Walcott’s Omeros (1990) prove that they can still enchant readers.
During this lockdown, when I wasn't in such a great space, poetry helped me to get through the tough times and I am pretty sure, it will help you to evoke a sanguine emotive response in you too. So, I decided to recommend to you some poetry books that I believe you should consider reading. The recommended books are solely based on my taste in poetry, although I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
1. "Love is a dog from hell by Charles Bukowski"
You'll either love Bukowski's poems or absolutely abhor them. Some of the poems might even disturb you in a skin-crawling sort of way, but the reason for my admiration towards him is because his writings are rough and dirty.
2. "The Wild Iris by Louise Glück"
This 1993 Pulitzer Prize-winning book is written in the language of flowers. Yes, you read that right, in the language of flower.
3. "The complete poems of Emily Dickson by Emily Dickson"
This is a voluminous book containing 1,775 of Emily Dickson's poems. She wrote about a number of subjects, and her poems are extraordinarily beautiful and touching. But I, personally, is a huge admirer of her Epitaphs.
4. "The City in which I love you by Li-Young Lee"
Li-Young Lee is an American poet of Chinese descent. This poetry collection was published in 1990. In this book, he explores several themes and writes about his immigrant experience and his relationship with his father.
5. "These My Word: The Penguin Book of Indian Poetry"
Although I badly wish I could recommend you more Indian poets, I decided to stick to only 5 recommendations. This poetry anthology contains some of the best poems by Indian poets.
I hope you enjoy the genius of these brilliant poets and they deeply move you. Happy reading, sunflower petals.
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