Can Americans Love Poetry Again?

Poetry has been an essential part of many countries’ popular culture for centuries. Italy, Russia, Iran, Chile, Poland, and Nicaragua are good examples, to name just a few. In these places, professors do not have a monopoly on poetry. Cab drivers, accountants, and salespeople will, often with very little provocation, recite a poem from memory. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar even host lucrative poetry competitions televised in the style of American Idol.