THE REAL TRICKLE TRICKLING DOWN

I’ve always heard it said that Americans have to be fairly satisfied with their lot in general before they support the fine arts, especially dance and poetry. When economic times are particularly rough (think WPA), the presumably suffering artist suffers all the more. As Wall Street currently quakes, and the banking and mortgage giants tumble, it’s a highly speculative sport to avoid being taken down in the collapse or being blackened with dust. Is this a residual of 9/11? Oddly occurring on the eve of the event? Is poetry and art doomed to irrelevance at moments like this (think Katrina-Rita)? Readings on the responses of artists and writers to Hiroshima-Nagasaki, as the true doomsday mechanism was announced, come to mind (think mass destruction). If a culture can be buoyed up by its artists, is it truly saved? I’m prompted to ask following an irksome incident that occurred last week when appearances by Ralph Angel and me, on behalf of the Poetry Society of America, were canceled suddenly by a SoCal radio station known for its strident support of the arts. We were iced in deference to ongoing urgent coverage of the housing and mortgage loan crises.