Political Poetry

As I write, poets in other lands are in prison because they composed verse with political content that angered or frightened their leaders

These are brave men and women, willing to risk their lives to express their political beliefs.

In most countries in Europe and North America, the right to compose political poetry is protected by laws and constitutions, so we tend to take this freedom for granted.

Political poetry, more than any other kind of verse, has the power to change society or our notions about society.

It combines a volatile subject with the most powerful vehicle of expression: verse.

That's why many dictators have banned political poetry and why you should consider writing it because you enjoy free speech.

However, if you are like most poets, you will tend to ignore public issues and write about intensely private ones.

political verse: Catches a reader's eye. Political poems are relatively rare.

Catches a reader's ear Political verse contains strong opinion, and opinion, by its very nature, affects voice —the sound or pitch of the poet's voice. For instance, too many love lyrics sound too sentimental or sweet, but a political poem may contain an angry, passionate or direct tone.

Catches a reader's attention. Readers have political beliefs and opinions, too. They may embrace your poem as divine truth... Or dismiss it as propaganda. Moreover, if you send such poetry to editors, you also may get a personal response. Either they will encourage you to send more poems or tell you they disliked your work, depending on their agendas.

The Revolutionary Poem. This type advocates the overthrow of a specific government or culture, as in this excerpt from Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Concord Hymn":

By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April's breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood And fired the shot heard round the world.

The Patriotic Poem. This type celebrates a country, culture or form of government, illustrated by Sir Walter Scott in this passage from "Patriotism":

Breathes there the man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, 'This is my own, my native land!'

The Protest Poem. Here the poet protests certain acts or systems of a government. For example, this excerpt from "America" by Allen Ginsberg refers to labor, political and racial trials during the so-called McCarthy era of the mid-1950s:

America free Tom Mooney America save the Spanish Loyalists America Sacco & Vanzetti must not die America I am the Scottsboro boys.