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<\/a>\nFogel is not a lone voice in arguing that poetry is a profoundly important human art. All through history, people have readily accepted the truth that\u00a0poetry matters. According to poetry.org, “Poetry as an art form predates literacy<\/a>\u00a0and …the greater part of the world’s sacred scriptures are made up of poetry rather than prose.”
\nAs Maria Popova at brainpickings.org<\/a> says, “What poetry does…is slow down the spinning world and dilate the pupil of attention so that the infinite becomes comprehensible.” In other words, poetry matters because poetry, like music, calls our attention to life’s great mysteries–mortality, love, hope, gratitude and grief–and helps us make sense\u00a0<\/em>of our most important experiences. \u00a0 So, then…<\/p>\n
Why is poetry not more popular?<\/h2>\n
Fogel explains it’s because, “There is something about poetry, about how it was taught, about its reputation as encoded messages only a certain kind of person can crack, that makes… people…squirm with a sense of inadequacy, burst into sheer belligerence, or quietly avoid it like the plague, especially in public.” Fogel describes her book\u00a0as a self-help manual for people with “Poem Traumatic Stress Disorder.” She structures her help for the poetry non expert around three premises, which she calls\u00a0demystification<\/em>, information<\/em>, and remystification<\/em>. If you believe living a large life is\u00a0about how much stuff you amass, you’re reading the wrong blog. In my worldview, largesse is about responsibility, which is to say love and, “variations of love as well, including wonder, celebration, excitement, awe, prayerfulness, or gratitude.” Fogel\u00a0believes (as I do) that poetry gives\u00a0us larger lives. Reading poems teaches us to take responsibility for the quality of our experiences, and reading\u00a0teaches\u00a0us empathy. “Language as a tool to manipulate both mind and heart…snapshot of the human condition; of our mortality reflected in nature; the staying of time.” Alice B. Fogel Why poetry matters “Poetry will bring you significant new interactions with the world around you, with ideas and sensations, with yourself and others,” poet Alice B. Fogel wrote …<\/p>\n
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\nHave\u00a0your education and your cultural milieu\u00a0robbed\u00a0you\u00a0of an important relationship? Do you sometimes experience a wistful feeling\u00a0that you would like to relate to\u00a0 “mysterious missives from the hearts and minds of others?” If you are thinking,\u00a0maybe I could learn,\u00a0<\/em>then Fogel’s book\u00a0Strange Terrain<\/em>\u00a0is available to teach you…<\/p>\nHow to read poetry<\/h2>\n
\nThink\u00a0of Fogel\u00a0as a Poetry Outfitter, a capable expert who will supply a map and\u00a0provisions for your journey. She will guide you as you\u00a0become comfortable with, and find comfort in, poetry. Her\u00a0demystification section is like\u00a0a map for finding your way into new territory. The\u00a0information section equips you with the necessary poetry gear<\/em>\u00a0to give you confidence\u00a0and ensure success. Finally, the\u00a0remystification section shows you how to think like an explorer, to retain a beginner’s mind and\u00a0sense of adventure when encountering a poem. A sense of adventure–of not knowing the territory–is\u00a0the most important premise to embrace when reading poems.\u00a0![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/map-nova-zembia.jpg?w=150\")
\nNobel Laureate and Polish\u00a0Poet Wislawa Szymborska<\/a>\u00a0clarifies that it is our lack of certitude, our “not knowing,” which “expands our hearts and gives us the capacity for astonishment,” essential to the experience of poetry. And in Fogel’s own poem\u00a0How to Live,\u00a0<\/em>she implies\u00a0that the paradox of authentic living<\/em>, is that we do it without knowing exactly what we’re doing.
\nAll things are of two
\nnatures. For identification,<\/em>
\none remains with the body, held<\/em>
\nfor safekeeping. The second<\/em>
\nis for the living, for the knowing<\/em>
\nhow to live<\/em>
\nwithout knowing how.<\/em>
\nWhen we are certain\u00a0we know\u00a0the way, the answers, the secret of how to live<\/em> our lives, we are probably living small lives. We probably are lacking\u00a0enough of that unknowable\u00a0mystery we call love<\/em>. The loveliest thing about Strange Terrain<\/em>, in my opinion, is that the examples are all Fogel’s own poems. If you’ve ever wondered what a poet thinks about when writing and revising a poem, this is the book for you. Which brings us to…<\/p>\nWhy read poetry?<\/h2>\n
\n“You are half responsible (and fully rewarded) for making emotions in a poem come alive again,” she wrote. And remember, her book outfits you with the gear you need to\u00a0bring a poem to life. “Successful interaction with poems (or fiction, for that matter) is rooted as much in learning empathy as literary skills. Perhaps it is because the two are so linked that reading is such a moral and enlightening activity.”
\nSo, if you desire\u00a0a more\u00a0enlightened life, and if Alice B. Fogel and I have convinced you that becoming a reader of poetry (or to returning to poetry) will help you reach that goal, then get Strange Terrain\u00a0here<\/a>.
\nAnd below\u00a0are three\u00a0of my favorite poetry anthologies which pair well with Strange Terrain. Do you, or will you, read poetry? Why or why not?
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\nPhotos via VisualHunt
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