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Plato, in hisRepublic, called for the censoring and banning of poets.
Obviously, poetry is political.
And yet, for most of the 20th century a century when Chiles Pablo Neruda, Irelands W.B.
Trump laterdeclined to renew the executive ordermaintaining the committee.
But the NSPP survived, thanks to continued funding from the IMLS and the two nonprofits.
Poetry means something different for each of the students.
All the honorees agree that poetry has a role in shaping the world; the question is how much.
For the Vermont-based Contreras-Montesano, verse is inherently activist.
I think that every poem is a piece of rebellion and activism.
Even something that feels so personal that it couldnt possibly be political always turns out to be.
Jensen, also a photographer and team debater, takes a more circumspect approach.
For Smith, who is African-American, a black person writing of love is radical in itself.
Political unrest is not a modern condition, she adds, but a steady American state.
However, she adds, I do believe the voice of the black writer has changed.
But the National Student Poets see themselves as doing something a bit more nuanced.
They arent merely politicizing poetry; they areusingit.
Its up to the poets to weave together the complexities of this identity.
Poetry has this power to connect and give the reader a sense of belonging.
I dont know who Id be without poetry.
A flood of poems came as a result, each tackling a different facet of my Jewish identity.
That poetry led Blokh to want to work with Jews who might share his confusion and despair.
I would urge my students to consider poetry as a medium for expressing their emotions.
In such a world, as Contreras-Montesano puts it, poetryisan activist.
It acts on all of us.
They dont need government agencies to validate their work.
All they, and we, really need is for us to listen.
