Georgetown University LogoGeorgetown University Library LogoDigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • School of Continuing Studies
    • Liberal Studies
    • Liberal Studies Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • School of Continuing Studies
    • Liberal Studies
    • Liberal Studies Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    A Mirror and a Barometer: On the Public Use of Poetry

    Cover for A Mirror and a Barometer:  On the Public Use of Poetry
    View/Open
    View/Open: Merz_georgetown_0076M_14347.pdf (837kB) Bookview

    Creator
    Merz, Teresa Ann
    Advisor
    O'Brien, William J.
    ORCID
    0000-0003-4182-5132
    Abstract
    Poetry, as a contemporary literary genre, is generally read by a small, self-selecting audience, and in this sense, it largely remains a private art. This paper discusses the public use of this private art, to consider if and how it can make a positive contribution to civil discourse and engagement in civic life. It affirms that poetry does have a public use, that it is an art form uniquely capable of fostering a sense of cultural cohesion by expressing the shared values of a community. This paper explores how the work of five individual poets exemplifies a public use of poetry across time and cultures: the Classical Roman poet Virgil, the Late Medieval Italian poet Dante, the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth, the twentieth century francophone poet Léopold Sédar Senghor, and the twentieth century Irish poet Seamus Heaney.
     
    As an introduction to this exploration of how poetry can yield power in public life, and what use it has for civil society, this paper looks briefly at remarks from three contemporary American poets: the current Poet Laureate of the United States, Tracy K. Smith, the poet, critic and former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Dana Gioia, and the poet, critic and farmer Wendell Berry.
     
    Then, focusing on the epic and lyric genres, it asserts that the techniques of meter, diction and metaphor are integral to the durability of poetic expression.
     
    This orientation is followed by a brief survey of five potential public uses that can be attributed to this literary genre. From Plato’s harsh critique of poets in The Republic, one infers poetry’s use to inculcate a moral lesson; from William Wordsworth’s “Preface to the Lyrical Ballads,” the use of poetry to rectify emotions; from Carolyn Forché’s anthology, Against Forgetting: Twentieth-Century Poetry of Witness, the use of poetry as historical witness and socio-political obligation; from Seamus Heaney’s various essays the use of poetry as a means of redress and affirmation; and from Earl Shorris’ Riches for the Poor, the use of poetry, in a humanities curriculum, as a means of social and political inclusion.
     
    These five lenses are then applied to selections from the five poets mentioned, with the result of seeing how the private voices and the public concerns are successfully interwoven. Three public organizations that rely on poetry in their programming to advance civil society are also highlighted: the Clemente Course in the Humanities, the Free Minds Book Club and Writing Workshop, and Split This Rock.
     
    The paper concludes that poetry is a constant and regenerative resource for humanity. Its primary public use is to create cultural cohesion: either by the solidarity created by public programs that utilize poetry, or by the values expressed by public poets, whose work mirrors their own individual spirit while being a barometer for the community in which they live and write.
     
    Description
    M.A.L.S.
    Permanent Link
    http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1057309
    Date Published
    2019
    Subject
    Cohesion; Cultural; Poetry; Public; Uses; Values; Literature; Literature;
    Type
    thesis
    Publisher
    Georgetown University
    Extent
    124 leaves
    Collections
    • Liberal Studies Theses and Dissertations
    Metadata
    Show full item record

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Thumbnail

      Patents and licensing, policy, patenting of inventionsdeveloped with public funds. 

      Katz, Dana; Merz, Jon F. (2000)
    Related Items in Google Scholar

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2023 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility
     

     

    Browse

    All of DigitalGeorgetownCommunities & CollectionsCreatorsTitlesBy Creation DateThis CollectionCreatorsTitlesBy Creation Date

    My Account

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2023 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility