Admittedly, during times of intense crisis or panic, most people aren’t running around asking what the poets think. If we encounter history in palpable manifestations, why read a poet to understand that history? But I believe we’re seeing a growth of readers and poets who recognize that poetry can become, at its core, profoundly political and historical. In instances like these, encounters with poetry and poets demand that we must change not only our societies and cultures but also ourselves. We should, as Abdurraqib says, “build what/ you must to keep the devils out.”Stephen Meisel is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Source: Daily Sun November 21, 2016 02:17 UTC