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But not so likely with the upcoming generation. The GCSE (a vital qualifying exam in the UK taken at more or less the US 10th grade level) syllabus has now been

But not so likely with the upcoming generation. The GCSE (a vital qualifying exam in the UK taken at more or less the US 10th grade level) syllabus has now been adjusted not to include Philip Larkin or Wilfrid Owen in a 'diversity drive'. Fair enough because not all great writers can be included in a crowded syllabus. I don't know who the replacement authors are but trust that they are of equivalent merit.

AlecSchueler 4y ago
Some really fantastic stuff on the new curriculum by the likes of Fatimah Asghar, Zaffar Kunial and Ilya Kaminsky! I'm sure Larkin was a great addition in his day, with a much more contemporary style of writing than a lot of the older poetry that had the standard stuff before. Probably turned a lot of kids onto poetry who would have otherwise yawned at it. I'm hopeful that these new updates will have the same effect and have a lot more resonance with the younger generations. Agree with yourself that it's a pity to lose people like Larkin and Heaney but the replacements are very exciting indeed and those old names are so, so big that anyone who develops even a passing interest in poetry will surely run across them quickly.
- barry-cotter 4y ago
  How could you possibly call what Asghar writes poetry? It’s like someone was genuinely trying to prove that free verse means nothing. It’s ok as prose, in parts. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/fatimah-asghar#tab-poems https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/fatimah-asghar#tab-po... Zaffar Kunial likewise doesn’t pay any visible attention to rhythm or metre or anything that might make what be writes poetry but at least he can write some evocative prose. https://poems.poetrysociety.org.uk/poets/zaffar-kunial/ https://poems.poetrysociety.org.uk/poets/zaffar-kunial/ Ilya Kaminsky likewise is the kind of “poet” that explains why poets have been off no importance in the Anglophone world since Ginsberg. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ilya-kaminsky#tab-poems https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ilya-kaminsky#tab-poe... Thank you. I needed that reminder of why no one cares about modern poetry. I do feel sad for the students who will be deprived of the chance to be exposed to poetry in the poetry section of their literature studies but all things pass.
  - AlecSchueler 4y ago
    This is a very charged comment about very subjective things so I don't want to get into it too deeply. I'm not sure what you mean that no one has been of any importance since Ginsberg as that's absolutely not true. Heaney himself was in the generation after that, and there's been plenty since, Paul Muldoon, John Ashbury, Leontia Flynn, Ciaran Carson, Meadbh McGuckin, Sophie Collins, Dan Paterson, honestly the list goes on and on. These people have been hugely important in my life and in the lives of many people around me. People absolutely care about modern poetry and magazines like the Paris Review are in very high circulation. Beyond the confines of traditional print media I also see more and more people in the younger generation using platforms like Instagram to share original poetry. Sam Riviere is particularly notably there for having published his books first via Tumblr before they were collected and printed by Faber. I can sympathise with the idea that these poets might not be to your personal taste but to write whole generations off as unimportant because of that is a very self centered outlook. With regards to the poets on the new curriculum I personally find them very exciting and I think there's something to be said for kids being exposed to verse beyond rhyming iambic pentemeter written by people who look like them or come from less dominant cultural backgrounds like they themselves might do.
    - barry-cotter 4y ago
      Of course it’s a charged comment. They’re putting prose with arbitrary line breaks on the poetry curriculum. People who like poetry, a medium that is meant to sound good, or at least interesting, in some way, shape or form rhythmic, will be disappointed. Of the modern poets you mentioned I may have heard the name of Paul Muldoon before. That is the hardly the height of cultural influence. Modern poetry is read by two kinds of people, those forced to do so in school and those who would like to do an MFA. Even short story writing is in better health and of more cultural significance. When poetry was of cultural significance working class people would have heard of them, people who did not go out of their way to keep up. Allan Ginsberg was genuinely famous, known, recognised. Paris Review is like the New Yorker, consumed by people of a certain social class, and of certain tastes within it. Every poet you mentioned combined has less cultural cachet than Weezer or Ed Sheeran. I’m not saying they’re unimportant. Much as Brutalism is a part of modernism, a culturally important movement, faux poetry is also important. Important doesn’t mean good. I’m happy that you enjoy the thought of people of the right cultural background being foregrounded. At least some people will enjoy the thought of the new curriculum. For the record there’s an awful lot of good poetry in English that doesn’t follow iambic pentameter but does pay attention to sound. You may find the examples in this link educational. https://poemanalysis.com/poetic-form/ https://poemanalysis.com/poetic-form/
xhevahir 4y ago
I'm not so optimistic about Larkin's replacements, whoever they are. I'm not British but it makes me sad to think that young people won't be shown "The Whitsun Weddings."

AlecSchueler 4y ago

Some really fantastic stuff on the new curriculum by the likes of Fatimah Asghar, Zaffar Kunial and Ilya Kaminsky! I'm sure Larkin was a great addition in his day, with a much more contemporary style of writing than a lot of the older poetry that had the standard stuff before. Probably turned a lot of kids onto poetry who would have otherwise yawned at it. I'm hopeful that these new updates will have the same effect and have a lot more resonance with the younger generations. Agree with yourself that it's a pity to lose people like Larkin and Heaney but the replacements are very exciting indeed and those old names are so, so big that anyone who develops even a passing interest in poetry will surely run across them quickly.

barry-cotter 4y ago
How could you possibly call what Asghar writes poetry? It’s like someone was genuinely trying to prove that free verse means nothing. It’s ok as prose, in parts. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/fatimah-asghar#tab-poems https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/fatimah-asghar#tab-po... Zaffar Kunial likewise doesn’t pay any visible attention to rhythm or metre or anything that might make what be writes poetry but at least he can write some evocative prose. https://poems.poetrysociety.org.uk/poets/zaffar-kunial/ https://poems.poetrysociety.org.uk/poets/zaffar-kunial/ Ilya Kaminsky likewise is the kind of “poet” that explains why poets have been off no importance in the Anglophone world since Ginsberg. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ilya-kaminsky#tab-poems https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ilya-kaminsky#tab-poe... Thank you. I needed that reminder of why no one cares about modern poetry. I do feel sad for the students who will be deprived of the chance to be exposed to poetry in the poetry section of their literature studies but all things pass.
- AlecSchueler 4y ago
  This is a very charged comment about very subjective things so I don't want to get into it too deeply. I'm not sure what you mean that no one has been of any importance since Ginsberg as that's absolutely not true. Heaney himself was in the generation after that, and there's been plenty since, Paul Muldoon, John Ashbury, Leontia Flynn, Ciaran Carson, Meadbh McGuckin, Sophie Collins, Dan Paterson, honestly the list goes on and on. These people have been hugely important in my life and in the lives of many people around me. People absolutely care about modern poetry and magazines like the Paris Review are in very high circulation. Beyond the confines of traditional print media I also see more and more people in the younger generation using platforms like Instagram to share original poetry. Sam Riviere is particularly notably there for having published his books first via Tumblr before they were collected and printed by Faber. I can sympathise with the idea that these poets might not be to your personal taste but to write whole generations off as unimportant because of that is a very self centered outlook. With regards to the poets on the new curriculum I personally find them very exciting and I think there's something to be said for kids being exposed to verse beyond rhyming iambic pentemeter written by people who look like them or come from less dominant cultural backgrounds like they themselves might do.
  - barry-cotter 4y ago
    Of course it’s a charged comment. They’re putting prose with arbitrary line breaks on the poetry curriculum. People who like poetry, a medium that is meant to sound good, or at least interesting, in some way, shape or form rhythmic, will be disappointed. Of the modern poets you mentioned I may have heard the name of Paul Muldoon before. That is the hardly the height of cultural influence. Modern poetry is read by two kinds of people, those forced to do so in school and those who would like to do an MFA. Even short story writing is in better health and of more cultural significance. When poetry was of cultural significance working class people would have heard of them, people who did not go out of their way to keep up. Allan Ginsberg was genuinely famous, known, recognised. Paris Review is like the New Yorker, consumed by people of a certain social class, and of certain tastes within it. Every poet you mentioned combined has less cultural cachet than Weezer or Ed Sheeran. I’m not saying they’re unimportant. Much as Brutalism is a part of modernism, a culturally important movement, faux poetry is also important. Important doesn’t mean good. I’m happy that you enjoy the thought of people of the right cultural background being foregrounded. At least some people will enjoy the thought of the new curriculum. For the record there’s an awful lot of good poetry in English that doesn’t follow iambic pentameter but does pay attention to sound. You may find the examples in this link educational. https://poemanalysis.com/poetic-form/ https://poemanalysis.com/poetic-form/

xhevahir 4y ago

I'm not so optimistic about Larkin's replacements, whoever they are. I'm not British but it makes me sad to think that young people won't be shown "The Whitsun Weddings."