“I believe the world is beautiful and that poetry like bread is for everyone”
“In the words of Roque Dalton, ‘I believe the world is beautiful and that poetry like bread is for everyone.’” Not only are these the words introducing my podcast Bread & Poetry, but also the words encompassing my philosophy on poetry itself.
Part of my work as Poet Laureate of Portsmouth, NH, is to do just that—to bring poetry to the people, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, disability, education, or socioeconomic status. Too often poetry is categorized as an art form in which only the elite or the highly educated can access and decode. My goal is to demystify poetry, making it truly accessible to all in a way that nourishes the soul.
As someone whose trajectory in life has been drastically altered and shaped by poetry, it is my mission to spread this opportunity to others. Poetry was a sanctuary when it found me a victim of domestic violence and sexual abuse, chronically ill, and hopeless. To say poetry saved me is too reductive a phrase, but it is not false. Poems have brought me to all the right rooms where I have met the people who have empowered me to continue. Bread sustains life, and I believe poetry has the power to do the same.
“And that my veins don’t end in me
but in the unanimous blood
of those who struggle for life,
love,
little things,
landscape and bread,
the poetry of everyone.”
The Bread & Poetry Project, named after the Dalton quote from his poem “Like You,” is a three-part approach harnessing this belief—poetry, like bread, is essential and has the power to heal and actualize social reform. With the generous support of the Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship with funds from the Mellon Foundation, The Bread & Poetry Project is now a reality.