January 7, 2008

Former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove once joked about poetry that “merely whispering its name can frighten people out of the room.“ Yet it remains an art we continue to turn to.  We draw meaning from reading it on our own, and we want it to mark our memorable events.  We even anoint official practitioners of the art:  just weeks ago Cambridge selected its first “Poet Populist.”  and  the City of Boston is preparing to announce the appointment of its first poet laureate.

When Joe Bergin urged Boston City Councilor John Tobin to introduce a resolution creating the post of poet laureate, he envisioned the person answering an important public need. 

“(The poet laureate) would transmit  an energy that elevates us unawares,” says Bergin,  a poet and carpenter who is a member of the Jamaica Plain Carpenter Poets and the author of Boston Seasons Quartet. “I also think people want someone to tell them a story, someone to express their thoughts for them.  It’s a reaction to this life that ‘s so filled with information overload and activity overload.  There’s an urge for something more contemplative that lets us get a perspective on our tumultuous lifestyles.”

And more.  In her book Homo Aestheticus:  Where Art Comes From and Why the author Ellen Dissanayake makes the point that art in all its forms has been important throughout history “evolutionarily or socially and culturally” because it “(makes) special.” It creates ceremony, lifting us out of the daily-ness to a place where we can have a different perspective. 

“Every board you cut is exacted/by your mood, state of mind,”  Bergin says in his poem “Carpenter Etiquette.”  As much at home with wood as with words, he  recognizes the similarities--and the challenges--in each instance, of working to create something unique and significant from raw materials that are available to everyone.

And maybe that is one reason for the growing movement toward the creation of state and city poet laureates.  While not everyone can compose music or make visual art, words are the currency of our day-to-day interactions.  Seeing someone use them to “make special” gives us a chance to think about what we say.  Watching someone juggle them; make them shimmer; or, as William Carlos Williams reminded us, deliver the important news, gives us a renewed sense of their power.

The raw materials are there for the taking.  We have the chance to use them every day as we choose-- in ways that connect us or pull us apart; in ways that invite understanding or that mock.  Poetry reminds us that words, our gift to each other, can be put to a larger purpose, creating understanding and connection, expressing gratitude and respect. 

At this time of year when we words like holiness, grace, peace, and love are in the air, even if they are most often rushed past in our haste to  complete the seasonal tasks this is the season of reflection and sanctification, a season in which and by which we make and are made special.  We could start with the words we say to each other.

Death Defying Postures

Death defying postures high above ground
Super feats achieved when no one is looking
But you know.
You take your ease around the tavern table
With your hearty stout fellows
Brave men all who face danger each day
For to create their brand of artisanal perfection
The little wisdoms on the job
Learned from repetition and countless errors elevate you.
Patience patience the job almost finished
Every detail handsome and bright.
Patience patience almost done
Then you can go back to rushing around.
‘Twas rushing ruined the Big Dig.

11 am after a coffee break the mind clearing
The work is good
You think about your life...
What will be the next big thing...
In the meantime patience patience with wood
Kindness kindness with people