[Jennifer Reeser]

At video mark 42:00, Kamala Harris trashes poetry and the poets:

https://nypost.com/2023/07/07/kamala...twitter-users/

[Mark McDonnell]

This mad take is barely worthy of a response, but just to save anyone 2 precious minutes of their life...

She says, in relation to a question about culture and self-expression, "I think it's very important that anyone who considers themselves a leader thinks carefully about how what they say affects a real human being. ..otherwise be a poet and write poetry" then, as a completely sincere aside and without any hint of irony, she says "and I don't want to dismiss poetry at all" then she carries on making her separate, non-poetry related point. What a monster.

[Jennifer Reeser]

Don't quit your day job, Mark.

Here I have transcribed the remarks in their entirety, so as to be free from spin, and seen in context. She is straight up saying poets have no understanding, either of language or of its psychological effects, and that we are not even a part of "real" culture.

If you cannot understand this, then I am afraid I can't help you. Keke Palmer. You cannot make this up...

J


"Culture is… it is a reflection of our moment in our time, right?
And and and in present culture is… the way we express
how we’re feeling about the moment and and we should always
find times to express how we feel about the moment
that is a reflection of joy because you know it comes in the morning.
We have to find ways to also express the way we feel about the moment in terms of just having language and and and a connection
to how people are experiencing life. And I think about it in that way too and we also I think it’s very important that that that leaders, anyone who considers themselves a leader really understands how anything they say could affect a real human being as opposed to… you know… otherwise be a poet and write poetry but if you want to understand— I don’t mean to dismiss poetry at all but if you want to understand any concept you have to ask questions like how would this affect a child to have a real understanding of what it is that you propose and culture helps us do that cuz you sit down with Keke Palmer you going to have a real conversation."

[Jennifer Reeser]

Originally Posted by Mark McDonnell

This mad take is barely worthy of a response, but just to save anyone 2 precious minutes of their life...

Oh, dear. Never mind what I said about not quitting your day job. I see that your profile says you are a high school teacher living in England -- actively discouraging people from education, from informing themselves and learning.

Perhaps you should quit your job, after all.

J

[Mark McDonnell]

Charming. Well, I take it back, Jennifer. I actively encourage people to watch that section of the video and decide for themselves whether Harris' offhand and admittedly rambly comment is "straight up saying poets have no understanding, either of language or of its psychological effects, and that we are not even a part of "real" culture."

I think it's a ludicrous reach to get this from what she said and that it's clearly you, rather than me, who is putting a" spin" on her words.

[Chris O'Carroll]

"Kamala Harris trashes poetry"

"She is straight up saying poets have no understanding, either of language or of its psychological effects, and that we are not even a part of 'real' culture."

Get a grip, Jenn. You are better than those paranoid, distorted translations of her words.

[Mark McDonnell]

Btw, I have no great appetite to defend Kamala Harris. It's depressing enough thinking about the left's betrayal of its core principles on this side of the ocean. I just think

a) clearly she's preferable to America's current alternative. And

b) your post is one of the silliest things I've read in a long time.

[Roger Slater]

I think she was drawing a distinction between words as they are spoken by politicians, which often are consequential in many ways, and words as they are used in poetry, where she seems to align with Auden's famous "poetry makes nothing happen" dictum. It's of little concern, though, since she is not running for Oxford Poetry Professor, but as the head of the party that opposes Republican book bans that often sweep poetry books from the shelves. And, to the extent that love of poetry is an issue in the race, I think that Kamala is far more likely than Trump to curl up in bed contentedly reading a copy of Strong Feather.

By the way, a quick Google of Kamala and poetry brought up this Facebook post from 2019. It seems that maybe she's not entirely illiterate after all.

[Mark McDonnell]

I think she was drawing a distinction between words as they are spoken by politicians, which often are consequential in many ways, and words as they are used in poetry

Yes, that's about what I got from the comment. Thanks for articulating it, Roger.

[Jennifer Reeser]

Here's the direct YouTube link. Simply hysterical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfhBMAhiU0g