Poetry In the Time of Crisis: La poesía en tiempos de crisis: The Role of the Poet and Poetry in Latin America
Most poets have written ars poetica to define their role and explain the meaning of their poetry for themselves and for society. Some poets see poetry as a purely verbal act, a creative challenge to revitalize language. Others see themselves as a spokesperson for the silent or a prophet seer to bring awareness to the reader. Many poets are skeptical of the value of their poetry for society; they see their writing as a “useless” act meaningful only for themselves. This panel seeks to examine how different Latin American poets view their poetry and whether their perspective changes or is expanded in times of crisis: civil war, dictatorship, epidemics, revolution, ecological crisis, etc.