The Power & Popularity of Poetry

In a piece for the Los Angeles Review of Books, Jonathan Farmer responds to the recent pieces in the New York Times that ask poets to debate the question “does poetry matter?” As Farmer points out, ” it’s a bit like asking a bunch of religious figures if religion matters,” but the conversation is worth following and pairs well with our own recent pieces on poetry’s power and popularity.

is a staff writer for The Millions. She lives in New York and every so often writes things at kaulielewis.wordpress.com.