tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396173107444713501.post7751749991548798260..comments2023-09-10T14:33:56.307+01:00Comments on The Bookshelf: Where have all the poets gone?Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02454545531539469449noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396173107444713501.post-31319117544232209362012-07-14T10:24:58.821+01:002012-07-14T10:24:58.821+01:00I would agree that poetry itself is not that pop c...I would agree that poetry itself is not that pop culturally significant, but I think a lot of the functions that used to be filled by the literary poet are now being fulfilled by the pop lyricist. Queen Victoria, for example, famously turned to Tennyson's 'In Memoriam' to help cope with the death of Albert; I turn to Bob Dylan's 'Don't Think Twice It's Alright' for consolation.<br /><br />I'm not sure that many poetic functions are really being fulfilled by the biggest names in hip-hop at the moment. A lot of the lyrics on Kanye & Jay-Z's album, for example, are not massively compelling (although I do like the line 'coke on her black skin like a zebra / I call that jungle fever'). In the category just below the super-mainstream, however, I think there's an excess of lyrical talent that is still getting a large audience. This, perhaps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0VQEfbMwb4Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10533670640996183001noreply@blogger.com