Put a Poem in Your Pocket

In his poem, “The Waste Land,” T.S. Eliot called April “the cruelest month.” Perhaps the Academy of American Poets chose April as National Poetry Month thirty years ago to provide us with a healing balm. It was certainly to remind us that poets play an important role in our culture - and that poetry matters. As poet Jane Hirshfield said, “Poetry is the attempt to understand fully what is real, what is present, what is imaginable, what is feelable, and how can I loosen the grip of what I already know to find some new, changed relationship.” Join Leader Anne Klaeysen in an exploration of the ethical aspects of poetry and put a poem (or two) in your pocket to share.

Dr. Anne Klaeysen is Leader Emerita of the NY Society for Ethical Culture and former clergy leader of the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island. She holds a Doctor of Ministry degree in pastoral care and counseling from Hebrew Union College and Masters degrees in business from NYU and German from SUNY Albany. Anne serves on the boards of the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, The Encampment for Citizenship, the National Ethical Service, and Ethical Culture Fieldston Schools.