Robert Bly

A while back Robert Bly was here in Spokane. I had the opportunity of attending one of his poetry reading sessions at Spokane Falls Community College. I wrote the following after that session:

Art is a form of non-conformism, defiance against accepted norms and rules, a violation of what is commonly considered normal. Repetition of what already exists cannot be considered as art. At best it is copying. An artist should be able to deliberately infringe upon the rules and norms of his art, and establish new rules and norms that can be repeated by others. Only then can a person call him/herself an artist.

Art is the creation of beauty; it is the expression of feelings and emotions; it is the kind of communication that addresses the most subtle aspects of human desire for perfection and elation.

Poetry, among other forms of art, is the use of language in a way that can affect the feelings and emotions of the reader or listener. It is the most emotional way of using the language. It arises from the emotions of the poet and targets the emotions of the person that is exposed to it. It can make you feel sad, happy, angry, agitated, relaxed, proud, humble. In a nutshell, poetry is all about the expression of emotions.

How is it then that despite their socialization, there have historically been more poets among men than among women? How come most poets are men? One may argue that in the past men had access to education and literacy, and women did not, and therefore men wrote poetry and women did not. But most poetry of the olden times was memorized. People memorized a poem and it went from one person to another like a current of emotions and feelings. Poetry does not necessarily have to be written language. Why then do we not have more women poets that men? Aren’t women the ones that are socialized to be able to express their emotions? Aren’t men supposed to have been reared to suppress their emotions? How come then Robert Bly can express and stir so much emotion? Why is it that he can make me laugh, cry, get angry, move, stop moving, get disappointed, or become filled with hope?

In my culture, men who choose to read or write poetry are thought of as being effeminate, womanish, yet almost all poets are men. Even in this day and age when men and women have equal access to education, still most poets are men.

True, men are historically socialized to suppress their emotions. Men cannot cry. Men find it difficult to express their love towards their mates. It is not manly to express ones emotions openly. Men should not let others find out that they feel sad. It is a sign of weakness and is not masculine. But men can make use of a legitimate means of expressing their emotions. Are there more poets than poetesses because men find in poetry a legitimate outlet of emotions and feelings without being found guilty of unmanly behavior?
Smart men like Robert Bly beat the system by expressing their emotions in the form of poetry and at the same time retaining their masculine image. Isn’t that smart?