Description
P
ercy Bysshe Shelley tells us, “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” Today we can see them embrace that role most plainly in their poems of protest and resistance. We will explore classics like “Dulcet et Decorum Est” and “Howl,” and recent great works like “won’t you celebrate with me,” “(Citizen) (Illegal),” “God Says Yes To Me,” and “38.” We will look at poems that protest war, racism, tyrants, and oppression, and that engender, among other feelings, empathy and rage. We will share what each poem says to us and reflect on
how and why protest poems strengthen and nourish us. Our four meetings will allow room for you to bring to class your own favorite protest poems to read and discuss.
Kenny Likis is an aspiring poet and retired teacher. He lives in Cambridge.
