In the narrative “In praise of ourselves: Stories to tell”, the author, William A. Wilson, discusses the importance of poetry, Speaking of why he and other Humanities instructors think poetry is a key component of what distinguishes us a thinking race.
He talks about an experience he heard about from another professor several years ago when he worked at another university. It was another typical wrangling over the allocation of funds, and one faculty member addressed some of the professors from the English department with the scornful (and in his opinion rhetorical) question:” You certainly wouldn’t give up a cure for cancer for poetry, would you?” Wilson records that if he had been at the meeting, he would have responded, “For one poem maybe not; but for poetry-yes.”
Wilson then talks about how poetry is the soul of men, and just as cell’s die from inaction, we would die without poetry. He also discusses about how stories form an impotent part of who we are.
I agree with what Wilson said, but I would like to add all literature to his idea of poetry. I cannot easily imagine a world without books such as Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, and I agree with Wilson’s statement that poetry (or any good literature) is food for our minds, allowing us to grow and imagine things we had never thought of before.
Poetry has existed for a long time, from the ancient Greeks (and probably a while before) to modern times, poetry and storytelling is a massive part of any culture. One thing that this has led to (which is important in my opinion) was the writing of Star Wars by George Lucas.
This isn't the right story.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read this one, but it seems like you had a pretty good idea of what the author was trying to say. I liked how you agreed with his opinion, but not about poetry. It's interesting that we can get things out of someone's paper that he or she may not have intended us to get out.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'll comment on this even though it's not the right story. I haven't actually read it but it sounds interesting. I really like the comment, "For one poem maybe not; but for poetry-yes." Any single poem isn't extremely important. But overall its an important way in which we express ourselves. I also like how you extend it to include all literature. I think that there is a lot of literature that gets overlooked. More than literary fiction has value. Genre fiction can have great insights. I've found amazing themes and wonderful imagery in fantasy books. I've actually written an essay about this subject. Maybe I'll post it in my blog.
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