{"id":94588,"date":"2023-01-17T22:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/planet-alaska-poetry-lives-and-thrives-in-alaska\/"},"modified":"2023-01-17T22:30:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-18T07:30:00","slug":"planet-alaska-poetry-lives-and-thrives-in-alaska","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/planet-alaska-poetry-lives-and-thrives-in-alaska\/","title":{"rendered":"Planet Alaska: Poetry lives and thrives in Alaska"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t
A recent New York Times opinion piece declared “Poetry is dead.” Obviously, we poets around the world set the author straight. Poetry is not dead; in fact, it’s especially thriving in Alaska. Alaskan poets are reading, writing, winning awards, and getting our work out there into the world. Yes, both your Planet Alaska columnists are poets.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Mainly, the author of the New Yorl Times article argues that poetry isn’t alive because readers can’t relate. He also says we can’t write good poetry because our modern life has alienated us from nature, especially the mystical side of nature. The author doesn’t mention the thousands of years of Indigenous oral poetry\/storytelling. I’m thinking he’s never heard Ishmael Hope tell a story or read Richard and Nora Dauenhauer’s books on Tlingit oral traditions. The stories are filled with poetry.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
We’ve been listening to poetry for a long time in Southeast Alaska. Poetry grieves at our memorials, dances at our weddings, and wanders with us on our favorite trail. Poetry curls up with us in the winter. Poetry sales surged during the pandemic when people were looking for comfort and answers. Poetry lives and thrives on social media like Twitter, Instagram, and more. Poetry is now an NFT (Non Fungible Token) and being offered as Etherpoems on the Ethereum blockchain. Yes, I’m still wrapping my head around this trend and trying to learn the terminology.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t