Are we preaching to the converted?
(And if so, how do we get the message out to others?)
I have seen some wonderful poems lately, many of them by Poets United members, which protest the evils and troubles of the world, poems which make me want to stand up and applaud. In fact, come to think of it, there have always been poems like that – stirring, moving, eloquent … and, in other times and cultures, popular.
But who reads them here and now? We read each other – as poets always did – but I don’t know that many other people bother. Singers and painters have a better chance of getting a message across to the wider public, I think.
Does it matter? Well yes, I think it does. What is the point of writing impassioned pieces that we wish could influence people – from members of the public to those in authority who might have the power to implement change – if such people never get to see our impassioned pieces?
Would they be influenced if they did see (or hear) them? Who knows? But it’s worth a try. If we make someone think, if we plant a seed…. Surely, the more voices raised – and heard – the better. So how do we go about it?
I’ve noticed with my own writing that the passionate protest poems often date quickly, especially if they refer to specific issues and people. That’s OK, I think. We need to address the particular as well as the broader and more general. As poets, we know that the universal can be brought home with greater impact via the particular. If you want to touch people’s hearts, show them a close-up of one suffering child rather than a sea of faceless victims. (Yes, photography does it instantly, but the principle holds for our pictures made of words.)
Well, if the protest poems are going to have a short shelf life anyway, why bury them in literary magazines? There might be a long wait for busy editors to even see the work; it might not get published anyway; and if it does, it will mostly reach people of similar mind already – people who would read a particular publication in the expectation it would publish material of a certain slant.
So, write other wonderful pieces on other topics, and submit them to the journals and anthologies, if you want to take care of your poetic reputation! That frees up the protest poems (or whatever one might label them – some will be calls to action, others cries of despair, some perhaps even hopeful; but I need a blanket term and hope this will do) to be used where they’ll be seen by a wider audience. Hopefully. Maybe. I think we’re going have to get creative about how to disseminate them.
Would your local politician (or his/her secretary) like to see a poem in the email instead of the usual petition … or alongside it? How many of you have participated in Poem in Your Pocket Day, where you carry poems around and give them away to people, even unsuspecting strangers? I have, and the surprised recipients are always pleased. I suppose a poem of a different opinion from a targeted politician’s might not get the same delighted response; but one could always try for humour, or even incredible beauty. I can think of Poets United members who write of terrible things in beautiful lyricism which cuts to the heart because of its beauty.
Then there’s ‘the general public’, which is made up of individuals of course. We could implement the ‘poem in a pocket’ idea every day, making them the kind of poems we hope might sway people. We needn’t even hand them out. Instead, we could pin them to public notice-boards. We could leave them on café tables, stick them under the windscreen wipers of parked cars…. Maybe all of the above?
So, write other wonderful pieces on other topics, and submit them to the journals and anthologies, if you want to take care of your poetic reputation! That frees up the protest poems (or whatever one might label them – some will be calls to action, others cries of despair, some perhaps even hopeful; but I need a blanket term and hope this will do) to be used where they’ll be seen by a wider audience. Hopefully. Maybe. I think we’re going have to get creative about how to disseminate them.
Would your local politician (or his/her secretary) like to see a poem in the email instead of the usual petition … or alongside it? How many of you have participated in Poem in Your Pocket Day, where you carry poems around and give them away to people, even unsuspecting strangers? I have, and the surprised recipients are always pleased. I suppose a poem of a different opinion from a targeted politician’s might not get the same delighted response; but one could always try for humour, or even incredible beauty. I can think of Poets United members who write of terrible things in beautiful lyricism which cuts to the heart because of its beauty.
Then there’s ‘the general public’, which is made up of individuals of course. We could implement the ‘poem in a pocket’ idea every day, making them the kind of poems we hope might sway people. We needn’t even hand them out. Instead, we could pin them to public notice-boards. We could leave them on café tables, stick them under the windscreen wipers of parked cars…. Maybe all of the above?
And what about busking? I expect the rappers already do that. Organised readings, even slams, seem a bit like literary journals – audience already favourably disposed. Nothing wrong with that; how wonderful to have enthusiastic audiences! But to change the tide of opinion might take something more. It seems to me to need a different kind of venue. A shopping mall, perhaps, rather than a stage?
Australian fantasy novelist Isobelle Carmody frequently stands in public places holding up a large placard criticising our Government’s treatment of asylum seekers who come by boat. It’s one thing to have a ‘no admittance’ policy; it’s another to treat people cruelly during years – yes, years – of waiting for ‘processing’. Isobelle decided to bear witness. I think it’s an incredibly brave act! Note that, although she's not a poet, she is a writer and is using her own written words to make this protest. People do stop to read, and mostly approve. She has inspired other Australians to do the same. Perhaps one could, similarly, hold up a poem that tells the hard truths?
Australian fantasy novelist Isobelle Carmody frequently stands in public places holding up a large placard criticising our Government’s treatment of asylum seekers who come by boat. It’s one thing to have a ‘no admittance’ policy; it’s another to treat people cruelly during years – yes, years – of waiting for ‘processing’. Isobelle decided to bear witness. I think it’s an incredibly brave act! Note that, although she's not a poet, she is a writer and is using her own written words to make this protest. People do stop to read, and mostly approve. She has inspired other Australians to do the same. Perhaps one could, similarly, hold up a poem that tells the hard truths?
We might send poems to mainstream newspapers if they have a poetry corner, or as Letters to the Editor if they don’t. Either way, that readership is wide and varied. Er, well, it was. Now it is falling, and newspapers are folding, being replaced by online versions.
Which brings me to social media. I confess I’m a bit behind the times. Oh, I have the blogs, as every PU member does. And I use facebook, as many of us do too. But although I have a twitter account, and am also on Google+ because Google makes it hard not to be, I seldom use either. Instagram and such remain mysteries. How do people find the time??? And does this get the message out anyway? Given that social media depend on creating circles of ‘friends’ who are usually like-minded, and blogs also are read by those who like what we say, I don’t think this counts as changing people’s views!
Luckily, other options are open to us, in addition to poetry. No reason we can't have it both ways. We can sign the petitions; we can email our politicians in prose rather than verse (or as well as); we can write letters to the editors of those newspapers still surviving, in eloquent words of either verse or prose.
It’s easy to despair about the current state of the world – environmentally, politically, economically…. Maybe all our efforts won’t be enough to save it. The prospects sure don’t look good! But still, might as well do something. Might as well do many things, if we can manage it: at least some of the above. If we are writing protests anyway, why not try and make them as effective as we can?
Will I myself do any of these things? Much as I admire Isobelle’s (literal) stance, I won’t do that. (Might if I was younger. I’d probably try and organise a few other poets to do it with me.) The rest? In writing this, I’ve given myself some possibilities to think about. I’d be willing to put into practice most or all of my own ideas, yes. First, I’d need to actually write some protest poems myself! It’s been a long time. Perhaps that in itself is a sign of deep despair – and, however valid it may seem, despair is not a good place to live. Meanwhile, I could ask poet friends who have written such pieces for permission to use theirs. Perhaps we need to revive the political pamphlets of centuries past!
What do you think? Can we use our poetry to reach more people? Would it do any good? Are there other ways I haven’t thought of? Am I simply being incredibly naive? Is this not the business of poetry anyhow?
(Images: public domain.)
It’s easy to despair about the current state of the world – environmentally, politically, economically…. Maybe all our efforts won’t be enough to save it. The prospects sure don’t look good! But still, might as well do something. Might as well do many things, if we can manage it: at least some of the above. If we are writing protests anyway, why not try and make them as effective as we can?
Will I myself do any of these things? Much as I admire Isobelle’s (literal) stance, I won’t do that. (Might if I was younger. I’d probably try and organise a few other poets to do it with me.) The rest? In writing this, I’ve given myself some possibilities to think about. I’d be willing to put into practice most or all of my own ideas, yes. First, I’d need to actually write some protest poems myself! It’s been a long time. Perhaps that in itself is a sign of deep despair – and, however valid it may seem, despair is not a good place to live. Meanwhile, I could ask poet friends who have written such pieces for permission to use theirs. Perhaps we need to revive the political pamphlets of centuries past!
What do you think? Can we use our poetry to reach more people? Would it do any good? Are there other ways I haven’t thought of? Am I simply being incredibly naive? Is this not the business of poetry anyhow?
(Images: public domain.)
