Why Poetry by Matthew Zapruder

Author:Matthew Zapruder
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-06-14T04:00:00+00:00

So many times I have taught this essay by Hugo, and every single time, my students immediately start to worry. What about what I want to say, about my personal experiences, or about the world? Shouldn’t I be expressing myself and my ideas through poetry? Are you saying that we should write poetry that isn’t true, or relevant to the big problems of the world? What about what is right, and good? I tell them to keep reading, as Hugo anticipates this objection:

By now you may be thinking, doesn’t this lead finally to amoral and shallow writing? Yes it does, if you are amoral and shallow. I hope it will lead you to yourself and the way you feel. All poets I know, and I know plenty of them, have an unusually strong moral sense, and that is why they can go into the cynical world of the imagination and not feel so threatened that they become impotent. There’s fear sometimes involved but also joy, an exhilaration that can’t be explained to anyone who has not experienced it. Don’t worry about morality. Most people who worry about morality ought to.

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