poetry letter to editor

I'd like to congratulate Oregon's new poet laureate Paulann Petersen. I wish her success in sharing her passion for poetry in the classroom as she's reputed to do well.

However, as another Oregon poet, I'd like to give my view on the condition of poetry in our state. Like most U.S. states, Oregon values poetry even less than other scholastic arts not useful for building a sky-scraper, turning a profit, or guiding a missile into a remote foreign village.

In high school, we have found a way to contort "poetic" meter and use it as one more weapon to create memorizing, conformite minds. But the teen who nonetheless develops real passion and aptitude for poetry should know it's far less likely to earn him a scholarship at a good school than basketball, football, wrestling, baseball, math, physics, etc.

Many people will say that poetry has never been a good way to make a living. This just shows how far they've neglected that other obsolete art: history. Even today, in "backward" places like Russia and the Arabic world, poetry is quite well funded and appreciated. I hope we can move a little in that direction.