April brings not only showers but also National Poetry Month. This year is the 20th anniversary of this celebration and, I believe, just in time to assuage the rising political angst – or at least see it through a different lens.
I perused the poets.org website produced by the American Academy of Poets, the organization that inaugurated National Poetry Month. Searching for political poems, I was drawn to the Langston Hughes poem “Let America Be America Again.”
That may sound similar to one current presidential campaign theme, but it was written by a poet who chronicled the illusive dream of the poor, the slaves, immigrants, and native peoples who built our country and whose freedom is still threatened.
Here are a few lines:
“Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
“O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.”
This poem by Langston Hughes reflects an aspiration that is going to require much more than just hoping for.
As a librarian, I would be remiss not to mention another April celebration – National Library Week beginning April 10. And, as a supporter of local musicians and businesses, I must also tell you that April 16 is Record Store Day.
Poetry, libraries and music – good antidotes for this Election Year.
I’mPaula Garrett, and that’s my perspective.
