enduringly useful

Robert Pinsky, former United States Poet Laureate and poetry editor at Slate, discusses the task of popularizing poetry in a country where poetry is dead. Pinsky’s interests are wide-ranging, though: in addition to championing Dickinson (and Sylvia Plath, Langston Hughes, and Walt Whitman), he praises “The Simpsons” and “The Colbert Report” (“I think we’re in a great period of comedy, maybe our greatest period of comedy in American history”), Big Mama Thornton, Buddy Guy, and Professor Longhair.

Of particular interest is his useful distinction between a great song and a great poem:

The crucial distinction for me between something that may be a great song and poetry is, Does it depend upon the performer? The poem must sound like a poem in the voice of anyone who chooses to say it aloud.

To see and hear great poems in many voices, take a look at Pinsky’s Favorite Poem Project, which features normal folks reflecting on and reciting great words.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,