Sunday Discussion with Charles Simic
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008
I harbor a grudging jealousy with anyone who can write a poem that doesn’t sound like something a teenager wrote for an ex-girlfriend. I know I can put together a string of good sentences but I cannot put the soul of a poem in my commentary. The reason I bring this up is that The New York Times interviewed U.S. poet laureate Charles Simic in the Sunday edition.
I should say Mr. Simic’s official title “Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress,” a mouthful of words that make the title holder an ambassador for flowery prose. Deborah Solomon’s interview with Charles Simic covers the spectrum of issues from the poet laureate’s accessible poetry to his vote for John Edwards in the New Hampshire primary. I like the issues spanned in this brief interview because few people know what the U.S. poet laureate does on a daily basis. The vague mandate offered by Congress for this position makes the ideal candidate capable of promoting poetry while relating well with the press. Charles Simic seems to fit this bill.
The Times interview points out a fatal flaw in our educational system which is a focus on writing. I don’t mean handwriting which remains a sticking point for many students (I can relate as a left hander who was encouraged to turn rightie by some mean old nuns). The over-scheduling of children leaves no room for imagination, whimsy, mental flexibility or expression of emotions of all types. I hope that Mr. Simic uses what Deborah Solomon refers to as “unusually accessible and plainspoken” poetry to open doors for artistic endeavors in our schools. As someone who grew up in a family that encouraged expression and went to a school that tried to suppress it, I can tell you that the former is vital for proper development into adulthood.
