Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.
--Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself”
Introduction
Poetry is an important public venue. It is so often dismissed, ridiculed, overlooked, and underestimated. America, too, is controversial. It’s overestimated, exaggerated, and hotly contested in our current social and political climate. Putting them next to each other, you have a very interesting conversation. By examining this juxtaposition, students and teachers alike can meditate on whether poetry can accurately describe what America is, and what it stands for; and, ultimately, they can explore whether poetry can adequately represent a multitude of American voices, different visions and versions.
The discovery of how one feels about their own country can be intensely personal. In order to work out those feelings, we often turn to the sphere of public discourse. Reading and discussing, by their very nature, represent a communal act. Personal feelings about America can be complex. Pair this complexity with the compact, often puzzle-like, world of poetry, and something very powerful can occur. A Patriot’s Handbook recalls John F. Kennedy saying, “When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.”¹ Here, we have someone who truly believes that poetry is an important vehicle in which humans can explore powerful ideas about themselves and their world. If we replace Kennedy’s “power” with “America,” we can see why students need to have this conversation about their country.
In What is Found There, Adrienne Rich echoes this idea about the power of poetry when she writes, “In a history of spiritual rupture, a social compact built on fantasy and collective secrets, poetry becomes more necessary than ever; it keeps the underground aquifers flowing; it is the liquid voice that can wear through stone.”² So when thinking about the issues that divide a (our) country, Rich asserts that poetry can give voice to the underrepresented and can inspire change. So there we have it: Poetry and America. My students will explore people’s visions and versions of America while discovering the power that poetry can have in what seems to be a private conversation, but ends up being a very public dialogue.
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