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Several years ago, a poet by the name of Tony Hoagland wrote an essay about Twenty Poems That Could Save America. It subsequently morphed into the title of a book of his essays. We believe that America needs saving, even more so than when the essay was first written. We also believe that what America is supposed to stand for is definitely worth saving and we agree that poetry can make a major contribution to saving what America was intended to become. During National Poetry Month, we want to explore, inter alia, Hoagland's list of twenty poems and what they offer by way of saving grace. Hoagland organizes most of his thoughts under the following themes in his essay:
- Poetry Teaches the Ethical Nature of Choice
- Poetry Respects Solitude and Self-Discovery
- Poetry Stimulates Daring
- Poetry Rehabilitates Language
- Poetry Defuses Sexual Anxiety and Encourages Curiosity
- Poems Acknowledge Trouble Ahead
- Poems Rehearse the Future
- Poems Teach Aesthetics That Are of Broad Application
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Photo by J. Harrington
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Following this paragraph is a list of Hoagland's Twenty Poems, with links, where we could find them, to each poem and its poet. We may, or may not, post about these poems in the order they're listed. Since this is as much to help us learn as it it to share with you (the best way to learn a topic is to teach it), there will be no quiz at the end. The only homework is to read each poem and think about what it means to you. We also reserve the right to sneak in other poems and/or poets during the month, without forewarning. Remember, one of our favorite things about poets and poems is that Plato banned poets and poetry from his ideal republic, while Shelley, in A Defense of Poetry, remarks that "poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world...." Again, the proper response is "Yes!"
Poem Poet Kerry Johannsen Speaks-Fluently
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