The Persistence of Poetry

a tentative evolution

ONE MORNING in October I woke up early and started thinking about my next article. I decided that it was time to talk about poetry. I’ve had a rather conflicted relationship with it over the years, which only makes my experience of it all the more interesting - to me, at least - so I mulled over a few ideas before getting up to make some breakfast.

One of the first things to hit my inbox that morning was the tremendous news that

Angel L. Martinez

, whose publication Musical Leadership addresses the history of the struggle for social justice whilst giving context to some amazing music, had been appointed New York State Beat Poet Laureate (2024-2026). I was thrilled that a friend I had met on Substack should be honoured in this way. I was also pleasantly spooked that yet again, the old Substack synchronicity was kicking in. I assure you, if you stick around long enough you will discover that this happens a lot here.