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The World in a Grain of Sand
Bret J. Saunders on the Importance of Poetry in Christian Education & Life
In a time of down-to-earth economic and political concerns, hardly anything seems less worthwhile than poetry. Poetry is the business of introspective twenty-somethings living in their parents' basements; or perhaps it is mostly the business of snobby academics and obscure journals. Poetry seems purposely vague and narcissistic. Why would any sane person squander as much time as poets do on a single image, verse, or line—sometimes even a single word? Perhaps poets, especially modern ones, are in fact not sane; or maybe they write poetry because they can't do anything (else). And specifically "Christian" objections are not hard to come by. "Shouldn't you spend more time on God's word," someone might say, "instead of Robert Frost's and your own?" Fair question. What about spiritual pursuits of deeper value, like witnessing or going on a mission trip?
What follows is a defense of poetry and its place in Christian education and life.
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