Poetry’s place in a doomscrolling world

Poetry is often a place we go to for rest, reflection, and rejuvenation. For poets, writing a poem can be a moment of stillness; a brief and welcome time to pause and examine or explore. A reader can go to the artform and find their lives suspended for the duration of the poem and, in that moment of stillness, have something new revealed to them. But what happens when the world refuses to be shut out, when lives are ruled by the constant flash of the screen? In a time when 24/7 (bad) news rules our lives, can poetry still provide a space of quiet reflection?

Join poets Jay Gao, Zaffar Kunial, Billy Letford, and Joelle Taylor as they discuss poetry’s place in a doomscrolling world, chaired by Arusa Qureshi.