I once read, in a book about postmodernism, a statement something like "Of course, we can no longer believe Romantic ideas about the imagination." (The "of course" is the worst part.) While it's true that imagination must now be understood as produced by the brain (and the body generally, I suppose) rather than just being some sort of airy mystery, I don't agree that the Romantic idea of imaginaton is otherwise so obsolete.
Shelley thought that poetry was essential for political change, because poetry activates and exercises the imagination. Without imagination, one can't imagine a better world. Without imagination, one can't imagine the suffering of others, and without that basis for empathy, there's no impetus for change. This idea has fallen out of vogue, but it seems to me rather irrefutable. Reading Marxist literary theory is not enough. Watching CNN is not enough.
To put it differently: Poetry makes psyche happen, and psyche makes everything else happen. At least in the human world. (Of course, psyche makes poetry happen, but I won't get into that whole chicken-egg problem.) It's no accident that the presidential candidate who's most associated with change is known for his pretty words and actually wrote some poetry in his college days.
So, when I wonder if poetry is really worth anything, I remember that this potential for psychic transformation is why I fell into poetry in the first place. Other arts can do it, but poetry almost cannot not do it. The scientists speak of "neuroplasticity," the ability of the brain to change its usual patterns of experience and response. This is a kind of liberation.
But what kind of poetry is best suited for this? Some poetry opens me up more than others. How can I write to best unclog those psychic pipes?
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