Steve D. Blume

on

Why Poetry Matters

How often do we hear someone say, I cant stand poetry or Poetry is just plain unintelligible. In the lingo of politics this talk will attempt to be a mind changer.

We live in an age of political doublespeak, falsity in advertising and religious uncertainty. I believe poetry offers us both intellectual and emotional gratification. Good poetry can help us to resolve both conflicting beliefs and contradictory emotions. It is, as Robert Frost argued, the one permissible way of saying one thing and meaning another.

Through reading, discussion and analysis of a variety of poems, I will try to examine why poetry matters as a particular form of truth telling in our complex and ambiguous times.

Steve taught literature in college for more than forty years. He has taught a variety of courses at A.L.L. for more than eight years. These courses include Shakespeare, Chaucer and other poets. After his wife, teaching is his second love.