What's evil about the poetry foundation? (please educate me) ALSO how do you really start getting into poetry? I always get a lil bored reading it

well the poetry foundation is evil, in my opinion, bc of the way i have seen it spend its money, us both being in chicago (i wrote abt some of my gripes w that here a fairly long time ago but its not nearly comprehensive enough & feels outdated & written from my stupid younger brain).  basically the pofo moved a “Community resource center & library” in2 the gold coast (wealthy wealthy area w no “community” in sight) neighborhood w an absurdly extravagant building & now hosts events that are “open to the public” but rlly r more like 1% galas fr their donors, with champagne & fancy foods & the library is not as freely accessible as they’d like to paint it & some of their staff act haughty as hell.  the majority of the poetry foundation’s funding came from a pharmaceutical giant a few yrs back &, while the unfortunate reality is that most poetry funding either comes out of the pockets of other poor artists or from bloated/careless corporations (sometimes also the govt…but like that fits in2 the latter category, right? lol), many fault it fr that reason alone.  while the publication & foundation recently (in the past year or so increasingly, with the new publication editor don share) has made an effort 2 b more “diverse” (& i use this word as its most likely how they wld view it), much of the writing they endorse or fund remains conservative both stylistically & ideologically.  if u appreciate poetry fr the way it acts as an agent of empowerment–of figuring out how 2 examine the language of yrself & yr communities & how 2 fight back w/ language–how 2 use language 2 uproot the world as we kno it–the pofo is not there 4 u.  & never will b.    the pofo also has shot down a number of ppl who have suggested they adopt actually beneficial programs like creating some sort of health care or emergency care system for poets (instead of just kind of haphazardly awarding large sums of money 2 ppl who all write the same way & have the same kind of mild politics).  all of this sd, their website is a great resource fr poetry.  it is just of course very selective w what it will run/what it will endorse/where it puts its money.  we need 2 b constantly questioning the sources of the content we consume, even w things as seemingly innocuous & “progressive” as poetry.  this is merely my opinion tho, u may find poets who enjoy the poetry foundation.

2 answer the second question, i do not believe in the idea that “poetry is not 4 every1.”  poetry is truly fr every1.  just like music.  its just another way of presenting information & ideas.   poetry is thought 2 have predated literacy & was once 1 of the primary forms of entertainment fr ppl but also had uses like recording & passing on laws & community history.  now there r all kinds of different poetry–some ppl whose words seem almost incoherent & some pppl whose words arent words at all & then some writing w that same utilitarianism involved in the earliest forms & others writing comedically, almost as if tweeting funny things or crreating a small book of one-liners w each poem  & some ppl who write intimately of their experiences w the world–so love poetry but also poetry abt identity–abt race class & sexuality.  there r so so many different types of poetry written by so so many vastly different types of people.   if u get bored reading poetry perhaps u sld try listening or watching videos of ppl reading.  some poetry is lost on the page & rlly needs 2 exist beyond it (as it first did!).  some poetry is best read on the page & listening 2 it doesnt do much.  i created these mash-ups of poems & pop songs/hip hop songs a while back kind of thinking of them as an introduction 2 listening 2 poetry.  i wanted 2 point out some of the things i found beautiful in the sounds of the poems while also providing an access point.  these r not necessarily my favorite poems & unfortunately very narrowly reflect the potential for poetry (seeing as this album is mostly composed of requests from teachers).  if u want 2 kno more abt poetry i can certainly recommend many poets for u 2 read (some poets i wld recommend r bhanu kapil, elaine kahn, june jordan, joshua jennifer espinoza, & bernadette mayer) but i think if u r just asking “What can i do 2 love poetry” the answer is 2 forget everything any1 has taught u abt understanding poetry & simply read or listen 2 the words  & see if they resonate w u in some way–if they describe a feeling u r always chasing or find urself bogged down by, if they entertain u, if they cause u 2 think abt a situation or image differently, if it is just the fact that u like the way certain words sound or fit 2gether.  when poetry readers stop trying 2 identify form or devices & instead just respond 2 the poem as they r naturally drawn 2 respond, that is i think when the best experiences w poetry happen.  i hope these were helpful answers 2 yr questions pls feel free 2 ask another question or shoot me an email gillig.cassandra at gmail