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Delivering Poetry, or Trying to, Anyway

© Kay Day

The Fate of the Radio Show, Rhythm, Illustrates Poetry's Predicament

Poetry as a concept is a chameleon. If someone asks me what I do, I always answer, "I'm a writer." The rest of the conversation usually follows the same pattern.

"Ooooh. That sounds interesting."
"Yeah."
"So what do you write? I mean, what books have you written?"

And from that point on, I try to explain, defend, describe and elevate poetry. This usually involves a definition of the term, 'chapbook.' I try not to sound too cool.

Because most people think poetry is cool, even 'kewl.'

Read a good poem, an accessible poem, to anyone on any level, and, if the person's receptive, you'll see a spiritual caul slip across their eyes. People, in general, like poetry. And the poetry they like can be as complicated as Auden's elegy, the one in "Four Weddings and a Funeral," or as sentimental as Rod McKuen's reflections.

Hey, I'm not here to judge poetry, I'm just explaining how I see it. So don't hold McKuen against me. His writing is not my personal cup of coffee, but, like it or not, the guy touched a lot of people, and probably brought them closer to poetry more than, say, Poetry, or Harper's.

Finding poetry in America isn't impossible. Many bookstores have readings once a month, and most of them carry at least forty to fifty titles, usually on an aisle towards the back. Many bars have open mic night, especially popular with slam poets. Magazines like the Atlantic and New Yorker carry a few poems.

Women's magazines like to blurb inspirational poetry on recipe and craft pages. We hear some poetry on National Public Radio, mostly what I call "mainstream" poetry by those lucky few who have pleased the proper literati and taught at the right universities, or by poets who've made it into prosody heaven, The Norton Anthology. The show, "Theme and Variations," also features some poetry.

So when I found out about Will Everett's plans for a poetry show to be broadcast on National Public Radio affiliates, I thought it was the greatest idea since the dictionary. At last, emerging voices in America would have a forum. A call went forth for submissions, and many talented poets responded. I was thrilled to see this idea progress.

Well, it's a good thing we poets have the Internet.

Because Rhythm couldn't secure funding.

In an email, the program's creator, Will Everett, expressed regret that, "Funding from corporate and foundation sources has dried up. Nor has there been much enthusiasm from public radio stations at large."

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