The Brooklyn Rail

Poetry is Not a Luxury

In remarkably difficult times such as these
Times of monumental and colossal cruelty
In the face of an immoral and corrupt government
Where violence, hunger and theft abound
With wars against everything I am and hold dear
In Gaza, The Ukraine, Congo wars and in this country
against Black People, People of Color, immigrants
working class and poor people, women, Trans and Queer people
To see the dismantling of DEI, affirmative action programs
and initiatives that were meant to level the playing field
for those historically and systemically excluded
(I owe my first chance at higher education to Affirmative Action)
To see the destruction of education and book banning
I am eerily reminded of Pol Pot
In this time of great atrocities, massive cuts to Medicaid
and social security—For a sense of moral compass
direction, faith, courage, I turn to poetry
like a raft in flood waters or in cases of emergency a box
with instructions on how to survive
I turn to poets like Audre Lorde, June Jordan and more
I reread Lorde’s essays, The Transformation of Silence into Language
and Action and Poetry is Not a Luxury
Every class I teach begins with these readings and
the late Dorothy Allison’s essay Deciding to Live as a guide
I regard myself as an activist, champion for social justice
And words poetry, visual art, music, art criticism is my artillery
I often think of a quote embedded on the walls of The New School
by bell hooks “critical thinking saved my life.”
Interdisciplinary art is the weapon I use to combat depression, despair
And the myriad of isms that plague us
This said, I’m honored to be the Guest Critic at the Brooklyn Rail,
It is a great responsibility in this time.
Many of us are disheartened, fearful and angry given this current regime
I tried to think of work that could inspire, rally, and provide a way forward.
I turned to poets, visual artists, critics, some colleagues, some co-conspirators,
friends, activists that I admire and consider beacons in their communities.

I asked them to send poetry, essays, visual art and to meditate on the theme of Audre Lorde’s “Poetry is Not a Luxury.” This essay is particularly meaningful to me because we’ve been conditioned in this country to believe poetry and art in all mediums is extracurricular, a hobby, or pastime. Poetry in particular is regarded as something that is done in elementary school, and is cute and insignificant like a peppermint or lollipop. Most adult people will preface a poem before speaking as little. “I’m going to recite a little poem,” they say, to impart how minimal, non-invasive, and small a poem is. We’ve also experienced or seen in times of immense budget cuts in schools, the first thing to go is art and arts funding. We are also now in an era where we are being conditioned to pay for and value technology more than the artists who fuel content. So art and poetry is on our lowest list of priorities, but it is one of the things that can give our lives purpose and beauty and create connectedness between people. I find it interesting that during the COVID pandemic where people weren’t forced out of their homes into mindlessly working just to survive, many returned to music or a long lost art practice. Without mind and soul numbing work, many also had the wherewithal to stand up to the injustice of police brutality and the murder of George Floyd.

To underscore these points about the crucial nature of art, in an unpublished epic poem America Ain’t Ready, which is also the title of a forthcoming book, I ask the reader, listener to imagine a world without art, without words, images, music: “Imagine life if you’d never heard a song or melody…” I could go on, with this folio, this gathering I hope to impart to you the feelings that I had receiving, reading and viewing these many entries. I felt filled with awe, hope, love, beauty and promise. The day was winter, it was freezing cold, but all around, in the presence of such great voices and artistry, I felt warm.