Poetry and the New Reality. Many professional poets are academics and thus they are less than effected by the current Great Recession. Unlike the past when many poets were tramps or worse most poets today can continue in comfort.
But if you are a poet and a working person who is now living in the
Great Recession. If you are in the process of losing what little you have it is time to write poetry for the facts of the new America. We are a nation that is spinning out of control and it is up to poets to say something.
4 comments:
Ray,
Everybody (unless you're making a lot of money) is affected by the recession. That's as true of professors as people in any other job.
Secondly, most poets are certainly not professors. Many poets are for example adjuncts, who are terribly underpaid most of the time. I think adjuncts are probably more affected than for example you are because of their extremely low salaries.
However, I think you're right that there is a definite sense of insularity about a lot of poetry being written.
Johannes
Just a lurker, very very sorry to hear about your lost job. IRL I'm an employment counselor for a One-Stop center. I work mostly with welfare clients now - another population who will notice this recession less than a lot of people will. I used to work with a lot of blue-collar manufacturers and production workers - they were the worst hit it seems. They worked for 20-25 yrs at the same place and suddenly the doors closed. Very, very tough. Hard for anyone to lose a job really.
My brother used to tell me "You can't molly coddle these poets!" He was being ironic.
Shit, I just re-read your entry and I somehow missed the first time that you had lost your job. So sorry to hear that. I feel like a jerk.
Johannes
TO JOHANNES
No worries-- you can pretty much say anything you want-- you published Celebrated Genome and I am in your debt
RB
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