Is poetry relevant?

Of course, I should not answer this question, because my answer would be, "Yes. Always. For someone. In some form."

Some people might be moved by William Butler Yeats, while others are amused by Billy Collins or love the cadences of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Some grasp the intensity of Sylvia Plath, Pablo Neruda, Emily Dickinson — or anyone. Whatever the need or the mood, there is a poet, and a poem, to fit.

I would say, if you think poetry is no longer relevant, do you understand it? Do you realize your need for it? (This is also how I would respond if you think libraries are no longer relevant. But that is for another time.)

For example, a bit by Terence Winch:

the trouble with the future is that it doesn’t stop
when it gets to the place you want to be.

Comments

[Bill Szuch]

The last quote about the future is why I like to read science fiction...the future is always the thoughts in our heads, what we visualize...so simple, so easy, so frightening.

[Leah]

I'm another "yes, always." I don't have too much more to say about it than that. Poetry is just . . . so valuable.

[Jess]

I used to fret about whether poetry was relevant or whether it "matters." There is actually a book called "Can Poetry Matter?" and it is an oft-raised topic in magazines like Poetry. But I've found I don't really care anymore whether it matters in the big picture, whether it can move people to revolution or move people at all. It's important to me, and that is all I care about...