There is also poetry written to be shouted in a square in front of an enthusiastic crowd. This occurs especially in countries where authoritarian regimes are in power.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
In a war situation or where violence and injustice are prevalent, poetry is called upon to be something more than a thing of beauty.
A public expectation, it has to be said, not of poetry as such but of political positions variously approvable by mutually disapproving groups.
One characteristic of modern poetry is that arrangement of parts which strikes many people as being violent or obscure.
Many performance poets seem to believe that yelling a poem makes it comprehensible. They are wrong.
Poetry is a lousy form of activism; it doesn't really change much. And maybe we can point to one or two historical times when a poem has started a revolution or a rebellion or an uprising, but it doesn't happen that often, and if you put the number of poems next to the number of political acts, it would be pretty slim.
So, poetry becomes a means for useful dialogue between people who are not only unknown, but mute to each other. It produces a dialogue among people that guards all of us against manipulation by our so-called leaders.
Against barbarity, poetry can resist only by confirming its attachment to human fragility like a blade of grass growing on a wall while armies march by.
Poetry is the lifeblood of rebellion, revolution, and the raising of consciousness.
Poetry is a natural energy resource of our country. It has no energy crisis, possessing a potential that will last as long as the country. Its power is equal to that of any country in the world.
As for political poetry, as it's usually defined, it seems there's very little good political poetry.
No opposing quotes found.