Sometimes, there are a few things that are as powerful as words. And while you can argue that everything makes a difference from the newspaper report to a story, there are few things as powerful as poetry. Down the ages, most revolutions have occurred after being spurred by songs and poetry, and it might be just what the world needs even today!
Poetry and its ability to change things
Poetry offers hope in the darkest of all times. It goes past today’s age of technology and materialism and fosters core values of spirituality and humanity. Ana Blandiana, a Romanian poet said that a bad person can’t write a good poetry when she accepted her Lifetime Recognition Award on June 6, 2018 for Excellence in Poetry from the Griffin Trust.
Blandiana is affirmative that poetry can save the world. And it doesn’t matter if you love playing with a bonus from Valley Forge in 2018, you should really read her work!
All about Blandiana and the difference she is making
She received the award at the Koerner Hall, Toronto, Ontario. At the event, seven finalists, from Canada and all across the globe recited their poetries. Blandiana is often considered as the greatest living Romanian poet for being a ray of hope for countrymen living under the scare of Romanian communist regime. Most of work is targeted towards encouraging people to fight for their freedom. And like every great poet struggles, Blandiana’s work has been banned in Romania but that hasn’t stopped many Romanian university students to print her poems and pass it around risking their life.
Blandiana has fought for freedom ever since communism fell in Eastern Europe in 1989. In an interview with Epoch Times, Blandiana said that people rallying with her for freedom is the most beautiful memory of her life. Just like you hold your hand around a candle from the wind blowing it off, the people protected her and she is grateful for that. The poetess talked about totalitarian governments and that not being able to defeat is only a state of mind of the weak.
How has poetry changed in the digital age?
Even though digital media has helped her poetry to reach out to a larger population, it has reduced spirituality. Media has also made the society more materialistic. It is a vicious circle of life, you work harder every passing day to have a better lifestyle and party hard and go on and on because our desires can never be fulfilled.
Increase in number of poetry festivals all around the world is a proof that people need more spirituality. Paul Scott Derrick, who has translated most of Blandiana’s work, said that the world needs sensibility and openness to ideas, which the people have lost completely. He described Blandiana’s work as simple and something that makes absolute sense. Poetries should be a quest for beauty in the impossible and value goodness and truth. Blandiana is a poetess who doesn’t play with words and makes sure what she writes is meaningful to all.
Photo of Ana Blandiana courtesy Wikipedia.