Tasneem Hossain
Moderator 
CELEBRATING THE POWER OF POETRY
“Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious…
For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it.”
During the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden on January 20, 2021 Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb” created great impact on millions of viewers in USA Capitol, just two weeks after a violent mob laid siege to the seat of American government. A difficult time of pandemic and political unrest, her words worked like balm- comforting and healing all those who listened.
Amanda said, ‘what I really aspire to do in the poem is to be able to use my words to envision a way in which our country can still come together and can still heal. It’s doing that in a way that’s not erasing or neglecting the harsh truths I think America needs to reconcile with.’
Gorman’s performance is a testament to the incredible power of poetry on human minds.
Research has proven the great impact of poetry reading, writing and speaking on our lives, especially in times of great need.
No wonder in a materialistic world full of chaos, hatred, jealousy, betrayals and disease Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “We need poets to change the World.”
Poetry, one of humanity's most ancient and treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expressions, has been around for centuries. 'Epic of Gilgamesh' is believed to be among the earliest works of documented poetry (2100 BC, Babylon).
Depicting life in its variety, Poetry combines people, culture, nature, history and study. It instills an abundance of feelings and emotions and inspires to change the perception of life.
UNESCO adopted March 21 as World Poetry Day during its 30th General Conference in Paris in 1999, with the aim to support linguistic diversity and preserve endangered languages and forms of different cultural poetic expressions. Since then, every year, World Poetry Day is celebrated worldwide to honour poets, both past and present; revive oral traditions of reciting poetry, popularise poetry and cultivate habits of poetry reading, writing and teaching. It serves as a reminder of how greatly poetry enriches and inspires us.
Even before that ‘The Academy of American Poets’ initiated National Poetry Month in April 1996 to create awareness about the beauty and power of poetry in our daily lives; celebrate all the American poets and to inspire people to practice poetry in their daily lives.
Since 1998, the day is also celebrated each April in Canada.
Through centuries countless types of poems like ballad, elegy, epic, haiku, ode, sonnet, villanelle, and free verse have emerged in different periods and evolved. Whatever the type, the fundamental purpose remains the same: explore human existence and existential dilemmas of mankind and stimulate powerful emotions through words.
The artistic mastery of poetry in bridging feelings and creating the ability to influence others helps to see life from a new perspective and provides solace to the conflicting, confused minds and helps to heal trauma and grief.
When a baby cries or sleeps we sing lullabies and poems. Why?
The rhythm of the poems calms and comforts the baby. We teach the child alphabets by singing abcd efg…... Poetry creates enchantment and wonder in a child’s mind from infancy and fosters creativity. Poetry is music through words. The beautiful combination of literary devices like meter, alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia create rhythm and the inherent music rejuvenates our souls and fills our lives with energy and vitality.
The power of poetry is heightened when recited. As focus has to be on the words to grasp the underlying meaning, listening skills improve. The rhythm helps build fluency in reading. The vivid visual imagery helps in creative imagination.
Memorising and reciting poetry helps boost cognitive abilities. According to Susan Wise Bauer, author of “The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had,” memorization helps children understand language syntax, patterns and word memory. Reciting poems, on the other hand, teaches young children rhythm, pronunciation, and a deeper, emotional connect with literature.
Different research studies have found evidence that writing or reading poetry can comfort and boost mood during periods of stress, trauma and grief for all.
Providing opportunities to children to read and write poetry lessens their fear, sadness, anger, anxiety and tiredness, making them happy and less stressed.
Another study found that guided poetry writing sessions significantly alleviate depression and trauma in adolescents who have been abused. Other studies found that poetry therapy helps reduce anxiety and stress, improves emotional resilience, empathy and overall quality of life of terminally ill patients; family members of patients, distressed individuals and frontline healthcare workers.
The healing power of poems is a great gift for human beings.
Moreover, the influence of rhyme and rhythm on the mind makes things easier for us to mentally process information. The right choice of poems also creates positive emotions. As we read poems or write them, we realise that though the world isn’t ideal, it’s an amazingly beautiful place.
Poetry in this materialistic world is more necessary than ever. It can be a powerful weapon to change the world.
The poems of Langston Hughes, Maya Angelo, Progressive Poets of India, Pakistan and many other countries played an active role to stop World Wars and Colonisation through poems. Poems can mobilise a whole nation to protest and build resistance. Kazi Nazrul Islam’s poems like 'Bidrohi,' 'Karar Oi Louhokopat' against the cruel, unjust exploitation and autocratic colonial rule of the British Empire in India are historic in building rebellion.
Maya Angelou's 'Caged Bird' is filled with powerful themes of racial oppression, freedom, captivity; happiness, sorrow and hope.
By giving voice to the marginalised, victimised and oppressed, poetry assists in raising awareness about important issues and used as a catalyst for social change:
Rise O’ woman, even if you fail.
Show the light to the next woman in test…..
Today or tomorrow the sun will shine. (Fractured: Rise-T.H.)
The nature poems of the romantic poets have a calming effect on the human mind and help us perceive the beauty of life and nature within a few sentences.
Poetry has the power to touch hearts and minds. "How Do I Love Thee?" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning instills strong emotions of pure love.
It’s an outlet to express our emotions and feelings about difficult life experiences. It also helps connect with others who may be going through similar experiences and evokes feelings of empathy towards them. This can be a very powerful healing experience.
Poetry, therefore, is instrumental for personal and universal growth and understanding.
Close reading and attention to language, imagery, and structure is essential to understand a poem. This process of close reading develops important critical thinking skills. In addition, poems often deal with complex themes and ideas. To fully comprehend, we need to sharpen our analytical skills. This process of analysing and interpreting a poem helps us think more flexibly and creatively.
Because of the brevity, to create a beautiful visual impact, words are carefully chosen which assist in building powerful vocabulary. Furthermore, reading and analysing poetry helps appreciate the beauty of language.
Regardless of its purpose, there’s something about the beauty of words and the power of poems that inspires writers and readers both.
Poetry is all around us, shaping our everyday lives. Poems are words of shared experiences of people written by poets: helping to connect and remind us of our common humanity. It transcends the barriers of language, nationality and time. It helps promote understanding and global peace.
Indian- American poet Meena Alexander said, “In a time of violence, the task of poetry is in some way to reconcile us to our world and to allow us a measure of tenderness and grace with which to exist.”
Poetry is a powerful guiding light, shining brightly, during good times and the bad times.
Poetry is a precious gift: cherish it. Embrace poems with love.
Poetry is life, Life is Beautiful.
Tasneem Hossain is a multilingual poet, columnist, op-ed and fiction writer, educator, translator and training consultant. She is the Director of Continuing Education Centre, Bangladesh.
References:
Murt, Aditi, Poetry Has The Power to Move Us, So Why Is It Still Taught In Such a Boring Way? The Swaddle, September 4, 2020
More than Words: Why Poetry is Good for Our Health, arts+mind lab.
