On Poetry & Teaching after Nov 8, 2016
In my Cegep class Poetry & Wilderness we're reading Sue Goyette's brilliant book Ocean.
As usual, I’m asking myself, what do I want my students to take away
from our time together today?
My answer is the same as always: Respect for ideas, for each other, for
themselves, for the planet; for writing that demands they open their minds; for
receptivity. Moments of joy, or at least pleasure, in learning and discovery.
Courage when faced with challenges. And the courage not so much of convictions
but of doubt, of expression of doubt. Of the usefulness of doubt.
This American election shows that none of this, for now, is
of value.
I don’t know how to model this. I don’t know how to respect
this election.
Today I have nothing. To contemplate a world in which none
of this matters is anguish. To accept a world in which none of this matters is
impossible.
But despair, the real despair I suffer as a human, is not
useful.
Therefore I continue.
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