Death of Poetry Article

 You can find the original article here.            

            The Washington Post ran an article by Alexandra Petri that asked, “is poetry dead,” but this sentiment seems to be in the minority.

            Petri’s article questioned the usefulness of poetry, asking if the medium was still relevant if it cannot change anything? This accusation comes on the heels of Poet Laureate Richard Blanco’s poem “One” at President Obama’s inauguration.

            Not everyone agrees with Petri’s statements and her judgment of Blanco’s poem.

            “I disagree,” said Dr. Kelly Whiddon, Associate Professor of English. “I think it can, but it isn’t needed for poetry to be worth while.” Whiddon said about poetry not being able to cause change. “She’s a journalist, so she ascribes the standards of journalism to poetry. [Journalism] has to be of mass appeal, but that isn’t needed for poetry.”

            Whiddon has recently published “The House Began to Pitch”. As a fellow poet, she defended Blanco’s poem. “That is the job of the poet laureate to encourage, make poetry more accessible to the general public.” Whiddon said, who teaches several of the poetry classes at Middle Georgia State College. Whiddon is not the only professional to disagree with Petri.

            “The reason journalism may be dead is because of hacks like her.” Dr. Kevin Cantwell, Interim Chair for the division of Media Culture and the Arts at Middle Georgia State College, disagreed strongly with Petri and continued by saying, “Journalists who write about poetry generally have that one claim they make, that poetry is dead. I would ask is journalism dead?”

            Part of Petri’s evidence to her claim is that she has been to several poetry readings where attendance was scarce and most of those present were students who were forced to attend.

            “I’ve been to hundreds of readings, some where there are thousands there,” Cantwell argued. “What students say is I didn’t think I’d like this but I did.” Both Cantwell and Whiddon argue that more and more students are enjoying poetry and that now is a good time for the medium. To this Cantwell noted the Seaborn Jones Poetry Contest that the school is sponsoring.

            The question is how popular does something have to be to still be an important medium?

            “There is something inherently wrong with the way we as a society look at value,” said Whiddon. “It doesn’t have to be a best seller to make it worthwhile.”