Remembering Well & Raising Hell
If you’d ask most people, they’d rather stay at home and watch a Seinfeld rerun than go to a poetry reading. Yet almost imperceptibly poetry enriches our lives and generates cultural growth and change. Think about it. Add up all the myriad poetry-related activities: readings, workshops, symposia, retreats, undergraduate and MFA programs at universities, books, zines, websites, spoken word recordings, then throw in lyric writing for theater and the multi-billion dollar music industry. A nation’s general well-being, its artistic richness and diversity and how it sees itself are refracted through the critical eyes of poets. As T.S. Eliot said, “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” Raising hell, pushing boundaries, making the powerful uncomfortable and creating beauty are all part of the poet’s repertoire.
Recorded at the University of Denver.
Speaker
Martin Espada
Martin Espada is a leading poet. His collection Imagine the Angels of Bread won the American Book Award. He is the recipient of the National Hispanic Cultural Center Award. A former tenant lawyer, he teaches in the Department of English at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is the author of Zapata’s Disciple, A Mayan Astronomer in Hell’s Kitchen, The Trouble Ball and Alabanza.
Bart Bolger –
I often listen to AR via TuneIn Radio and our local community owned station KBOO–had to get the plug in–while doing chores around the house and garden. This episode I listened to while sorting mail, which I do part time. I was so moved by the emotion and Espada’s fascinating history in this talk that I’m sure I mis-sorted some mail. I immediately ordered a copy so I could listen again without causing further harm.
I don’t read poetry ever and have never considered myself a fan, except for a few lines of slam poetry at activist events. But Espada delivers his poems with gripping passion and provides plenty of context to make them come alive. I plan to find more of his work. Thank you, AR, for sharing this talk.