Courage

This afternoon, I was reading Garrison Keillor's intro to a collection of poems he had put together - Good Poems for Hard Times.  The introduction was fantastic and reminded me why we need poets and good literature - good stories - in our lives.  And how our lives, in general, are good stories if we bear witness to them.  And how, in an age of zippy computers and information overload at our fingertips, the written word can be so refreshing, if we were to just slow down and pay attention.

Here's a little of what Garrison had to say about the meaning of poetry:

"The meaning of poetry is to give courage.  A poem is not a puzzle that you the dutiful reader are obliged to solve.  It is meant to poke you, get you to buck up, pay attention, rise and shine, look alive, get a grip, get the picture, pull up your socks, wake up and die right.  Poets have many motives for writing...but what really matters about poetry and what distinguishes poets from say, fashion models or ad salesmen is the miracle of incantation in rendering the gravity and grace and beauty of the ordinary world and thereby lending courage to strangers. This is a necessary thing."