"It is difficult/ to get the news from poems/ yet men die miserably everyday/ for lack/ of what is found there," wrote William Carlos William, an American poet of the 20th century. A good poem is an experience that requires the reader's active participation, unlike television. In 1996, the Academy of American Poets created National Poetry Month in order to bring the wisdom of poetry to as many people as possible.
For the creative writing faculty and their students at Penn State Erie, every month is poetry month. George Looney, who serves as program chair of Erie's new bachelor of fine arts Creative Writing Program and who has a new collection of his poems, "The Precarious Rhetoric of Angels," forthcoming from White Pine Press this fall, said, "Spring is a logical time for National Poetry Month because great poetry rejuvenates the soul, which is allowed to 'blossom' again through paying attention to poetry in the month of April."
"Most people in this culture think poetry has no connection to their lives, that it's too ephemeral, too abstract," said Looney. "In my mind, poetry is all about our lives. It allows us to re-examine and re-understand our lives. It's the oldest and most intimate form of human expression."
To celebrate National Poetry Month, students and faculty from the program trekked to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the annual Associate Writers and Writers Program Conference. While there, the group sold copies of Lake Effect, Erie's literary journal, attended readings and panels, and joined others who share the same passion for literature.
Sean Thomas Dougherty adds his voice to the poetic scene at Erie. His seventh book, "Your Voice After Desnos," was recently accepted for publication by Boa Editions. The book, featuring love poems in Dougherty's own innovative form, the Oberek, engages his Hungarian ancestors, especially his great-grandmother. For Dougherty, poetry forms a dichotomous relationship with the evils of the world. "Poetry doesn't shoot children, fly airplanes into buildings or drop smart bombs on innocent civilians," he said. "Poetry is the language of humanity, complexity and seeing the individual as a person."
The goal of National Poetry Month and the program at Penn State Erie is to create readers of poetry that take advantage of the art's many riches. "Poetry," said Dougherty, "asks more questions than gives answers. In a time of war and intolerance, poetry is the opposite of barbed wire."
For more information about the bachelor of fine arts program at Penn State Erie, contact the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at (814) 898-6104.