Poetry has a longstanding tradition of observing cultural trends and opposing injustice, whether in subtle or outspoken language. From Mother Goose (the dark side of nursery rhymes) originating in the 14th Century to the compelling echoes of such 20th Century voices as Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, The Beatles, Maya Angelou, and Leonard Cohen, poets and lyricists have relentlessly pricked our collective conscience.
Poetry is also good therapy. You don’t have to be an American to be alarmed by the clear signs of regression and oppression fomenting in our current administration. The idea for this website as a safe (for now) emotional outlet was born of a series of limericks and short verses privately posted on Facebook by Susan Elizabeth, a skilled and passionate practitioner of the craft. It is our hope that poets from all over the world will apply their gifts to the resistance in a useful way, and that the aberrant 45th regime will consume less than one embarrassed paragraph in the annals of history.
Why rhyme? Because, when done well, light verse is uniquely suited to pithy zingers. This is no reflection on other poetic genres.
Mary Boren, Curator
February 25, 2017
The logo was designed with an image created by John Hain
and donated to the public domain.