Noticed: Steven W. Beattie's "In defense of poesy"

In his literary blog, That Shakespearean Rag, Steven W. Beattie is marking National Poetry Month with a remarkable series, "In defense of poesy." He writes, "Although poetry needs no justification — it is its own justification — historically, critics and others have felt the need to defend or explain the form to a recalcitrant reading public." Inspired by Sir Philip Sidney's Defense of Poesy (1595), Beattie's series "will look at poets and poems that illustrate both the depth and broadness of the poetic firmament." To do this, he asked poets to answer the question, "Why should people read poetry?" The first responses are from Adebe D.A. and Brenda Schmidt.

Open Book featured Steven W. Beattie in "The Rabble-Rousers," the latest installment of our popular Spotlight series.