By Neya Krishnan, New Canaan HS Senior
In his powerful lecture ‘The Riddle of Poetry’, Jorge Luis Borges argues, “This is that we know what poetry is. We know it so well that we cannot define it in other words, even as we cannot define the taste of coffee, the color red or yellow, or the meaning of anger, of love, of hatred, of the sunrise, of the sunset, or of our love for our country. These things are so deep in us that they can be expressed only by those common symbols that we share.” I think Borges does great justice to the idea that poetry is felt more than anything. It is far too complex to be broken down into a simple definition but rather it’s a symbol of the human experience that all of us are able to share.
For many poetry brings images of confusing English classes and convoluted metaphors. But more recently, this view of poetry has begun to shift. Earlier this month, the world watched the talented Amanda Gorman share her poem ‘The Hill We Climb’ at President Biden’s inauguration. Folks everywhere tuned in to hear the twenty-year-old young woman’s words and were left speechless. Since her performance, Gorman’s three books, two of which are unpublished, have been on top of every bestseller chart. She has been on countless talk shows, from Ellen to a segment with Anderson Cooper on CNN to Trevor Noah’s Daily Show. Now, she is set to be the first poet ever to perform at the NFL’s Superbowl. As someone who loves poetry and truly believes in the power of language, it is amazing to see something like poetry placed at the forefront of so many of the United State’s most-watched television broadcasts and talk shows.
Since her performance of ‘The Hill We Climb’, the public has fallen in love with Amanda Gorman, and it’s not hard to see why. I think that the public’s reaction to Gorman speaks to the unique ability of poetry to unify, shed light on challenging topics, express shared sentiments in a profound way, and bring us all closer together. The last words of Gorman’s poem have been quoted all over social media platforms. They read as follows- “When day comes, we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid, the new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light if only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it.” Her poem empowered her listeners to see that light, to be that light. Her poem showed Americans that despite the darkness, the ache, we survive; we push for a better tomorrow.
I’ve followed Gorman for a while now. This is probably because I’m a total poetry nerd. In fact, I write poems daily. I work through poetry collections like ‘Crush’ by Richard Siken and ‘Night Sky With Exit Wounds’ by Ocean Vuong nightly, taking notes on blue post-its about line breaks I found purposeful or metaphors I thought were particularly brilliant. I have a poetry account on Instagram, and I do my best to post weekly. On my poetry account- in addition to posting poems- I have also designed lists of prompts that others can use to inspire their own work. Through Instagram, I’ve found a community of poets from all around the world online. I think it speaks to the power of language that I can feel so intimately close to people I’ve never met simply because of their writing.
When I tell most people about any of my aforementioned hobbies, they give me a nervous smile because few people believe anybody could find that much joy in poetry. But I do. And Gorman’s emerging role as an admired and popular figure in contemporary poetry excites me for the future of poetry and the power it possesses.
