‘Truths of Outrage and Truths of Possibility' – Muriel Rukeyser

Fiona Bennett reflects on the power of poetry to provide companionship, beauty and escape in times of isolation.

"Isolation can produce both the void of silence from which a poem emerges but also bring on an unexpected and inescapable amount of noise in the head — deprived of company, our thoughts jangle inside us and with the added physical constraint of lockdown, they have nowhere to go."

"In this condition, poems offer us the organising space of words set down according to rules of rhythm, sound and breath. They can be a place of settle, of focus, where we can close the door of now and next and open one to a deeper, rhythmic time."

"Poems can be portals to other worlds and other times, escape hatches not just to a sense of location but to a physical experience of it."

This article was commissioned by The National Centre for Writing - read the full article HERE.