Poets Respond to Issues of Gun Violence in Bullets into Bells

Newtown, Connecticut resident and writer Brian Clements–whose wife, a teacher, survived the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting–is a co-editor, with Alexandra Teague and Dean Rader, of Bullets into Bells: Poets and Citizens Respond to Gun Violence (Beacon Press, 2017). "More than 50 poems by well-known poets, including Billy Collins, Danez Smith, Robert Hass and Rita Dove, reflect a broad spectrum of thoughts and feelings, along with responses from activists, survivors, lawmakers and relatives of people killed," writes Christina Hennessey about  the anthology for CT Post. More:

In the five years since the Sandy Hook tragedy, Clements says “facts, reason, statistics, argumentation, rhetoric, common sense — no approach has gotten us very far. … It’s going to take impact on an emotional level and take empathy and personal connection. All those things are reasons people become active after (a tragic event). (The book) has the emotional impact — the poems, the response and the storytelling to get people to act before it is too late.”

Poets are increasingly being called upon to make sense of the times, says Jennifer Benka, president and executive director of the New York City-based Academy of American Poets. The organization runs poets.org, which has seen an uptick in visitors in the past year.

“We have seen a resurgence in poetry that is speaking powerfully to current events,” Benka says. “Poets are using their talents and their pens and pages to move the conversation about important issues. One of poetry’s strengths is its subjectivity. We know when readers take the time to engage with poems, they are engaging with a human voice. Poems help to get at fundamental questions in a powerful and personal way.”

Two of those questions are why are more than 33,000 people dying every year from gun violence in the United States, and what can be done about it. The book’s contributors address mass shootings, accidental deaths, domestic violence, suicides and unsolved killings. “There is not a single solution to addressing these problems,” Clements says, but adds that a majority of people favor common-sense approaches to strengthening gun laws, such as expanding and improving the background check system.

The book is part of a larger project, which includes a website (bulletsintobells.com), where more poems and discussions flourish, and events at libraries, schools and community centers in every state and Washington, D.C. The events bring together voices from the book with local activists and poets to talk about gun violence particular to that area.

Read on at CT Post.