TV advertisements are effective conduits of culture. Tunes from the opera or peices of classical music have been immortalised by their associations with everyday products and places. Poems are used less often but one exception was Leisure by William Henry Davies (1871 – 1940).
It began with the couplet ‘What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.’
The poem was used to advertise a holiday experience but could just as well describe the process of poetry. It takes time to access poetry but it’s a shame not to invest in the occupation of poets. Poetry is individual and what makes a certain combination of words resonate for one person yet mean nothing to someone else is a mystery. But when it works it’s worth it.
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The Poetry Foundation at http://www.poetryfoundation.org contains poems by over 6660 poets.
The Poem hunter at http://www.poemhunter.com offers a list of 500 ‘top’ poets and other lists of ‘classical’ and ‘new’ poets. |
Something for everyone with a heart…