Brilliant! I will keep this right next to other great poetry manifestos such as Wendell Berry's "How to be a Poet" (to name only one)... Thank you Joseph for all that you are doing to restore dignity and integrity to modern poetry. 🙏☺️
Great phrases here, Joseph. “Toxic fiction.” “Algorithmic hellscape.” “A handful of air.” The Horace reference strikes exactly the right notes: gravitas and humanitas at the same time. Just lovely.
I love this: you and Horace and Whitman and Pound making sense of life together, history compressed in the power of shared language. Beautifully written, Joseph.
Wow, Joseph, so many lines worth careful contemplation here. One of my favorite definitions of poetry I heard Billy Collins say once was: "Poetry is the history of emotion."
Yes, yes, yes and Amen! Poetry is a bridge connecting the material world with the transcendent. Or maybe better, a ladder, with angels ascending and descending. It is the way up and out of the haze of modernity and materialism and our constant handling of words like commodities, like prayer. It is a way of seeing and hearing and living more grounded and more starry-eyed at the same time. It is not just a nice perk to the good life; it is the good life.
You struck on something so vital to art — the sense of responsibility that comes with it. Poetry should be about humanity in its most holy sense, our participation in beauty. It’s a relief to know there are poets like you in the world who haven’t lost sight of the mark!
The title of this piece, "Poetry Is the Antidote," is something I've been saying to myself all my life, but more so in the past several months than since I was young and breathed it in and out. I want to thank you, Joseph, for saying it for me, for all of us. Beautiful and crucial, and truly an inspiration.
Brilliant! I will keep this right next to other great poetry manifestos such as Wendell Berry's "How to be a Poet" (to name only one)... Thank you Joseph for all that you are doing to restore dignity and integrity to modern poetry. 🙏☺️
Thanks, Rob!
Great phrases here, Joseph. “Toxic fiction.” “Algorithmic hellscape.” “A handful of air.” The Horace reference strikes exactly the right notes: gravitas and humanitas at the same time. Just lovely.
Many thanks, FRS!
This is exquisite. You could very well have substituted “the Spirit” for poetry and it would have made sense as well.
Thank you! 🙏🏻
Sigh. I needed this.
Good!
I love this: you and Horace and Whitman and Pound making sense of life together, history compressed in the power of shared language. Beautifully written, Joseph.
It's probably unworthy of Horace, but now I want a T-shirt that says "poetry is the antidote". Thank you.
This can be arranged!
Poetry, a good poem, restores us every time. The imagery in this poem is vivid in ways that restore my faith in words.
Beautifully expressed. And thank you for taking me back to Horace.
Below, one of my contributions. Enjoy.
https://open.substack.com/pub/ringbearer/p/four-daffodils?r=280cux&utm_medium=ios
Thanks, Michael!
Inspirational, Joseph!
Wow, Joseph, so many lines worth careful contemplation here. One of my favorite definitions of poetry I heard Billy Collins say once was: "Poetry is the history of emotion."
Yes, yes, yes and Amen! Poetry is a bridge connecting the material world with the transcendent. Or maybe better, a ladder, with angels ascending and descending. It is the way up and out of the haze of modernity and materialism and our constant handling of words like commodities, like prayer. It is a way of seeing and hearing and living more grounded and more starry-eyed at the same time. It is not just a nice perk to the good life; it is the good life.
You struck on something so vital to art — the sense of responsibility that comes with it. Poetry should be about humanity in its most holy sense, our participation in beauty. It’s a relief to know there are poets like you in the world who haven’t lost sight of the mark!
You are a breath of fresh air
Like the autumn wind with falling leaves
The open window to cool the sun filled solarium
The zen breath of freshness and release
Thank you for being you
The title of this piece, "Poetry Is the Antidote," is something I've been saying to myself all my life, but more so in the past several months than since I was young and breathed it in and out. I want to thank you, Joseph, for saying it for me, for all of us. Beautiful and crucial, and truly an inspiration.
Indeed, the antidote much needed in these times as in many others throughout the human journey…
Thank you. 🙏🏽