Should Poets And Politics Mix, Part Two
If you’re interested in part one, click here. While “Professor publishes April 16 poem,” by Liza Roesch for the Collegiate Times, might sound mundane enough, it actually explores the idea…
If you're interested in part one, click here.
While "Professor publishes April 16 poem," by Liza Roesch for the Collegiate Times, might sound mundane enough, it actually explores the idea of whether poetry and politics (and current events, for that matter) should mix.
The article is about Bob Hicok and a poem he published in the September/October issue of American Poetry Review called "So I know." It is a confessional poem from Hicok about his guilt for not doing more to prevent the April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech shootings brought about by one of his former students, Seung-Hui Cho.
In it, Hicok addresses why he's written and attempted to publish the poem: "too soon/people will say, so what. This is what I do."
And Hicok definitely has a point.
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