Some kinds of poetry are all about inner feelings, the musicality and lyricism of an unexplainable experience. Those are beautiful. But what I have always loved most in this genre is the poetry of the real, the day to day, what documentary poets witness. So I was delighted to read this "Big Think" essay “Why the search for meaning is not a job for science – or religion,” by Jennifer Michael Hecht. We hear from Jennifer in this weekend’s show, “Cultivating Wonder.”
In it, she says, “When I use the word ‘poetic’ I mean no mysticism, just attending to the wonder of the real, which is quite sufficient. For instance, if you think about it, surely consciousness is more astounding than a virgin birth. Poetry helps us meditate on what is both true and amazing, and that can help us live.”
– Shannon