I wrote on the home page that this website is for those who know poetry is not a luxury. But what does that mean?
This site is a response to the historical process of poetry's special relationship with activism. For the clearest picture of poetry's role in politics, look to the 1960s.
This time was an explosion of movements. To name a few: the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power Movement, Chicano, American Indian, and Asian-American Movements.
A prime example of poetry's role in these movements can be seen in the poem "Yo Soy Joaquin" by Rodolfo Gonzales. This poem played an enormous part in the Chicano movement, by reclaiming the name "Chicano" and finding pride in the contradictions and intersectionality of having a Latin identity.
When you read this poem, pay no attention to its form. There is so much variation between printed copies of this poem because it was primarily spoken rather than read in print. This poem became a rallying cry for the Chicano public, recited and displayed all over. This poem was a public act— the opposite of academic.
Public is the opposite of academic because academia is not for everyone. There is a paywall and a hierarchy. All is not equal and accessible. In addition, academia reads, studies, and discusses lofty things with implications far away from the speakers. And then it moves on. The cycle continues on and on. "Yo Soy Joaquin" was made for the public. It was not made to be studied, to be discussed at a distance and ignored, but to be read and inspire. It was made to be read aloud and lead those to march and demand a better life. The implications of the issues are live within the reader. The luxury does not exist for the reader to be impacted by the poem and then move on. Instead, the poem gives shape to their anguish. They cry out its words and demand the world to see them and recognize their humanity as they are.
This is the spirit, power, and form of political poetry.
Poetry is not just an academic exercise for those who can afford to do participate. It is not only a space for personal reflection hidden in journals tucked away on bookshelves. Poetry is a framework, a rallying cry, a space to notice the wrong in the world, and a place to dare to imagine a better future.
For a long time, I wondered how my singular voice could ever matter. This thought kept me in bitter silence. But what if Rodolfo Gonzales thought this way? What if he never dared to write and share "Yo Soy Joaquin" because he thought his voice would never matter?
Poets for Progress is for the voices who have been silenced. For the voices who, like me, thought their words could never matter. For the voices who want to try. For the voices, like Gonzales, who want to shout their poetry from rooftops because you know poetry gives form to the abstract and that your words might explain a feeling widely held but unnamed in the conscious. That they might start a movement.
Political poetry is a public act. It is for every voice. For every voice who feels fear, joy, anger, hopelessness, and hope. For all who dare to hope for more.
Let's practice political poetry together. Let's make our voices heard in every way possible.
Let us dare to hope for more.
Share your work with Poets for Progress. Click the "Contribute a Poem" tab on the menu bar found on the home page.
I cannot wait to see what we can achieve together.
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