Why Read Poetry?

When was the last time you sat down to read from a collection of poems? I find that in my experience most people don’t read poetry. This goes for English teachers as well. We can draw from our lack of interest in poetry…that this has been the generally held attitude towards poetry by most people at most times...i.e. the only reason people read poetry is because it is assigned reading... But such an assumption is challenged as one surveys the kinds of material that have been preserved throughout the centuries. There is a lot of poetry. One may see this by simply flipping through the pages of the Old Testament in a modern translation. The different way the text is set on the page reveals that the translators recognize a significant portion as poetry. Poetry is not only found in the Bible but in cultural heritages around the world. From Homer…to the Quran…to the Ramayana…and one could go on. Poetry represents a significant bulk of the literary achievement of civilizations. While most people do not regularly read poetry today, this does not mean that people do not encounter ideas that are expressed in the way ideas are expressed in poetry. When I ask a room full of people whether they read poetry, the answer is almost always that most people do not. When I ask the same group whether they regularly listen to music the answer is almost one hundred percent response in the affirmative. But what does it matter? One may consider this question how many times have you watched your favorite television show? One may have on DVD their favorite series they may have watched their favorite episode ten or fifteen times, but there is a limit to the number of times one watches their favorite television show. When you think about how many times you listen to your favorite song one finds that this number is quite different. One might listen to their favorite song over one hundred times. The reason for the difference helps us understand the different way in which poetry functions. The song isn’t just about someone else but it invites us to hear words that give voice to our situation. So what does this mean for our reading of the Bible? More to come….