Friday 15 June 2012

More poetry please

Last night's edition of Question Time revealed a rather sad fact about our cultural climate. Not a single politician could name and recite a poem that had inspired them. The most pathetic attempt came from a government minsister who single-handedly illustrated the intellectual vacuum at the heart of the current regime.  Only Peter Hitchens rose to the challenge, by reciting a poem by AE Housman. He spoke eloquently of the  delight and privilege of retaining beautiful things in the mind and of remaining in contact with the thoughts and ideas of our ancestors.

We seem to be entering a new sort of Dark Ages. In forgetting the rich treasures that have been handed on to us by generations of poets, writers and philosophers, we are turning our back on a vast source of received wisdom. It is being replaced by inanity and shallowness. Many people in public life - even those at the top of government - have no concept of the eternal truths which can be most effectively encountered in poetry. It is a dangerous situation to be in. If we abandon the tried and tested values of our culture we have to replace them with something else. History shows that  attempts to do this have devastating consequences.

1 comment:

  1. Very true, I too was impressed by Hitchins' eloquence on the importance of upholding and passing on our cultural treasures. Under the guise of "anti-elitism" so much shallow rubbish has been given high status in our culture; whether it be music, art or poetry. Compare Tracy Emin to Turner, the Sex Pistols to Elgar orCarol Ann Duffy to Wordsworth. None of the former will inspire faith in the future because they all piss on the past, whereas the latter revere and build on tradition.
    Hitchins is one of the few with the insight to see it and guts to speak out about it.

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