"because it seems to me that the people who seek out poetry connect with it deeply, and personally, I’d take depth over breadth. If Midway can foster those kinds of connections, then I’m satisfied."
YES.
"At the same time, I have been so inspired by and optimistic about the traction poetry is gaining in the political sphere lately. Palestinian author Mosab Abu Toha is one clear example of a contemporary poet who has been able to reach audiences that may never have been interested in either poetry or Palestinian history in the past, and of the ways in which reading poetry can alter one’s relationship to the world."
This is a fascinating thing and I love to know that it is happening. I don't tend to write with any political motive myself - wait, that's a lie, I don't submit poetry that is motivated by that because I haven't found a way to hold the tension between the world and myself correctly - but I love the golden moments when I see poetry become part of the thread that holds the globe together, affecting the internal world with resounding ramifications... it is beautiful & very healing somehow.
Thanks for sharing this, Kate, I'm glad that Samantha's words resonate with you. And yes, expressing the tension between the world and oneself is where it all happens. Although the end result (the poem, painting, song, etc.) may be more or less direct in the ways that it addresses the "world" part of the equation, it is still an expression of that interplay.
"because it seems to me that the people who seek out poetry connect with it deeply, and personally, I’d take depth over breadth. If Midway can foster those kinds of connections, then I’m satisfied."
YES.
"At the same time, I have been so inspired by and optimistic about the traction poetry is gaining in the political sphere lately. Palestinian author Mosab Abu Toha is one clear example of a contemporary poet who has been able to reach audiences that may never have been interested in either poetry or Palestinian history in the past, and of the ways in which reading poetry can alter one’s relationship to the world."
This is a fascinating thing and I love to know that it is happening. I don't tend to write with any political motive myself - wait, that's a lie, I don't submit poetry that is motivated by that because I haven't found a way to hold the tension between the world and myself correctly - but I love the golden moments when I see poetry become part of the thread that holds the globe together, affecting the internal world with resounding ramifications... it is beautiful & very healing somehow.
Thanks for sharing this, Kate, I'm glad that Samantha's words resonate with you. And yes, expressing the tension between the world and oneself is where it all happens. Although the end result (the poem, painting, song, etc.) may be more or less direct in the ways that it addresses the "world" part of the equation, it is still an expression of that interplay.