On the latest edition of the Minefield, Waleed Aly, formidable intellect that he is (no irony intended), made a brief statement about poetry (which you can find at 8’07’’ of the audio at this link).
I was going to write a rebuttal, but instead, here’s a little poem:
Poetry is something we don't do
After Waleed Aly
Poetry is something we don't do.
It's just not part of our repertoire.
People could get through their entire
lives without encountering
it in a meaningful way.
It's not valued.
If we put it in a newspaper –
that used to happen but
would be very strange now —
people would skip and just imagine
what sort of business it would do
in an online newspaper. It has been
part of every civilisation
throughout history and yet
it's an art form we are doing
away with.
It's inherently alienating to
a modern audience. In order
to get someone to engage
with poetry you have to get them
to read or listen to a poem
and that feels like a bridge
too far.
It's an effort, it's not what we do.
I could make you listen to a song,
I could get you to watch a documentary,
I could get you to read a novel, at a pinch
I might get you to read non fiction
and analysis, but a poem?
It's for people on the fringes,
overly artistic in spirit though
perhaps not in talent.
[Snigger from Scott]
Close your eyes and imagine a poet:
what you see has got nothing to do
with the rest of us.
Even painting or sculpture have more
presence, even if it's in caricature.
So what is the point of poetry?
It's an art form we are doing
People skip and just imagine
It feels like an effort
It's for people on the fringes
It feels like a bridge
Me fail? I fly! 
I can’t hear what Waleed said —- there’s an “error” in your link – but I guess I can guess from your poem. There’s probably a truth in that I think you are saying Aly said but I also know that poetry is alive and seemingly well – poets are being published by small and specialist publishers, Red Room Poetry month seems to be surviving, there are regular (monthly) poetry events in Canberra, poetry awards continue to be made, and so on. How much have things really changed in the last, say, 5O years, except perhaps the collapse of newspapers suggests fewer opportunities for publishing?
Does any of this make sense or is it just platitudes?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Sue. I discovered that I can’t link to the actual audio, so I’ve changed my post so there’s a link to the episode, where interested people can click on the audio. Yes, what you say is so true. And not just Red Room Poetry activities, but also slam events all over the place, which attract enthusiastic, mainly young audiences. Even newspapers: the Australian recently had a feature that ran for months in which Sarah Holland-Batt discussed a single poem in some detail.
LikeLike
Yes … all of that. Here in Canberra one of our poets had a chalk poetry practice whereby she writes poems on pavements etc in chalk which engages “the general public”. I’m going to Melbourne this week so will miss the event where she will be talking about her practice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great idea. Here in Marrickville we have our anonymous mattress poet, and I’ve come across a whole poem by Mary Oliver written in a footpath when the cement was wet.
LikeLike
It is isn’t it … she’s a poet so I’m pretty sure it’s her own poetry but any poetry made public is good I think.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Did you read what the new ABC said in The Australian’s review pages about wanting to bring about a resurgence in poetry? He thinks it will appeal to the TikTok generation.
Mind you, he’s presiding over an ABC News website which is more like the Women’s Weekly than a serious source of news, so I don’t have much confidence in his ambitions.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have’t seen that, Lisa. To be honest, after Waleed delivered his little diatribe and after a bit more justification of the poems under discussion (they had been set to music by Benjamin Britten), he and Scott and guest Simon Tedeschi proceed to an interesting and engaged discussion of a poem.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the wonderful poem! Such a pity we won’t be having the Martin Johnston Memorial Poetry Reading this year ( because Viv is overseas) — it would be great to have you read this. Anyway, keep it for next year! When Ali urges us to “Imagine a poet” it is impossible not to see Martin in his rainbow poetry coat. I also find myself imagining a response by John Forbes… keep up the struggle! Nadia
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Nadia I’d be delighted to read it at an MJ event. As you’d expect, I also thought of Martin when Waleed said that. Him and Sara M Saleh an Eileen Chong and Omar Musa …
LikeLike