I’m taking this poetics class, in which we read a bunch of theorists from throughout the last century who’ve published essays about the state of American poetry. Most of the theorists are addressing what poets need to do to be better and/or to appeal to more readers. All of them discuss the state of poetry’s readership—how fewer and fewer people read (and buy) poetry, how the art is dying and why [e.g. poets writing more obscure poetry, and a less artistically cultivated readership among the masses].
There’s no doubt poetry has lost a foothold in terms of respect from the “common person” in our culture (in other cultures it is still highly valued and more widely read by the public). It’s not just poetry—publishers of novels are suffering as well—although poetry is no longer a primary career option for anyone. You simply can’t be just a poet in our society. And a lot of people—theorists—are mad about that. They’re mad at the masses, who don’t have any interest in educating themselves in how to read poetry, and they’re mad at their fellow poets, who make their poetry inaccessible to those masses. They’re even mad at Jewel, who wrote some overly accessible poetry that a lot of people liked, but who was not a “real poet” but instead published a bunch of bubble-gum poetry that the dumb old masses just loved (OK, they’re right, but you see my point: there’s just no winning).
A lot of movements have addressed this dilemma: How to save poetry?? Slam and performance poetry aim to invigorate the art with dramatic appeal, placing emphasis on entertaining the audience, for example. And there’s been some success there. And some theorists have tried to get a movement to catch on in which you neither need to “learn” how to read poetry, nor does poetry need to be “accessible” at all; rather, every reader is invited to make a meaning of his or her own from every poem. In fact, the more nonsensical the poem, the better, because then the reader “can’t” extract a meaning that isn’t personal, emotional/tonal. For these theorists and poets, there is no “communication” taking place between poet and reader, just a work made of beautiful language waiting for meaning to be created. But this hasn’t really caught on in any widespread way.
It seems to me the masses are not any dumber than they used to be. I know a lot of people would disagree with that, but there are all kinds of “smarts,” and I would challenge anyone from 1940 who has just memorized “Oh Captain! My Captain!” to attach a document to an e-mail message.
The masses are inadequately educated, I’m not denying that. It’s a just-about-insurmountable challenge to adequately educate a populace in our modern world; success requires an incredible amount of knowledge now. And there is a difference between “knowledge” and “cultivation.” One cultivates appreciations and talents. With knowledge, one learns how to do things and finds out what is known about things. Public education has to focus on knowledge. It has no choice. Cultivation is left to after-school activities for the lucky and to individual pursuit.
We all have a lot more options in terms of what interests we will pursue, and poetry is an interest. You have to LEARN how to enjoy reading poetry. Like you have to learn to play the flute or learn to play chess. People simply don’t opt for it. It may not be as true as many poetic theorists would like to think that they ever DID opt for it. Remember, at one time, cultivation of reading poetry was taught in school, and a respect for it was reinforced in society. In short, it was “cool” then. It may not be cool now.
Thanks to the Internet, every member of the public can find the most insanely specific interest to cultivate. If you’re interested in yodeling-while-playing-backgammon-and-drinking-coconut-milk-naked, I’m sure there’s a club you can join. And if you’re interested in cultivating your ability to read poetry, there are a lot of poets and literature-buffs who would love to help you learn how WITHOUT first discussing how “dumb” the masses—including you—have become.
Meanwhile, if you’re interested in just reading poetry here and there, maybe you don’t need any guidance, or maybe self-guidance is all you need. And if you’re interested in WRITING poetry, well, you don’t need any help with that, it’s available to everyone (if it’s publishing poetry you’re interested in, there are about ten million MFA programs now that can help you grow your craft and find your niche).
So I guess my point is: Poets, Indie rockers, Drinking-straw sculptors, listen. Whether your art is brand new, or whether you have joined a very old art with a long tradition, take heart. It doesn’t matter if the masses appreciate what you do. It matters if the people who appreciate what you do are served by your contribution. It doesn’t matter if you set yourself up for anthological immortality. It matters if you make yourself happy now, doing what you love and growing in it. And it doesn’t matter if you live in a society that loves “Grey’s Anatomy” more than the latest issue of “Poetry” journal. It matters if you can get what you love—the time to write and some people to share it with—in the moment you’re in that society. The same “evils” that are “dumbing down” our society are some of our greatest tools. We are LUCKY to have the Internet; how many times have you read a poem online and loved it, and been so glad to have encountered it? And how much has Seinfeld changed our language, made it unique to our time and no time before it?
Don’t worry if you can’t have a wealthy life writing poems. Those days are gone forever. Mourn them at length, or move on. This is a time for exploring a whole bunch of interests and hopefully making a living doing one of them (or at least, a second or third career). Keep your writing high on the list, and keep the SHARING of your writing high as well, but don’t beat your head on a wall trying to figure out how to get more people to read it. The ones who want to read it are out there … find them and appreciate them, and don’t be sorry there aren’t more of them. The rest of the masses are yodeling naked.
