The University Center for Human Values Series
Written by Naomi Oreskes, Antonin Scalia, Robert Pinsky and
Narrated by Christopher Grove, Lloyd James, John Chancer and
4.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this series
The place of poetry in modern democracy is no place, according to conventional wisdom. The poet, we hear, is a casualty of mass entertainment and prosaic public culture, banished to the artistic sidelines to compose variations on insipid themes for a dwindling audience. Robert Pinsky, however, argues that this gloomy diagnosis is as wrongheaded as it is familiar. Pinsky, whose remarkable career as a poet itself undermines the view, writes that to portray poetry and democracy as enemies is to radically misconstrue both. The voice of poetry, he explains, resonates with profound themes at the very heart of democratic culture
There is no one in America better to write on this topic. One of the country's most accomplished poets, Robert Pinsky served an unprecedented two terms as America's Poet Laureate (1997-2000) and led the immensely popular multimedia Favorite Poem Project, which invited Americans to submit and read aloud their favorite poems. Pinsky draws on his experiences and on characteristically sharp and elegant observations of individual poems to argue that expecting poetry to compete with show business is to mistake its greatest democratic strength - its intimate, human scale - as a weakness.
As an expression of individual voice, a poem implicitly allies itself with ideas about individual dignity that are democracy's bedrock, far more than is mass participation. Yet poems also summon up communal life. Even the most inward-looking work imagines a reader. And in their rhythms and cadences poems carry in their very bones the illusion and dynamic of call and response. Poetry, Pinsky writes, cannot help but mediate between the inner consciousness of the individual reader and the outer world of other people. As part of the entertainment industry, he concludes, poetry will always be small and overlooked. As an art - and one that is inescapably democratic - it is massive and fundamental.
Naomi Oreskes
Naomi Oreskes is Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. Her opinion pieces have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and many other outlets. Her TED talk, “Why We Should Trust Scientists,” was viewed more than a million times.
More audiobooks from Naomi Oreskes
The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Trust Science? Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related to The University Center for Human Values Series
Related audiobooks
A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Scalia's Court: A Legacy of Landmark Opinions and Dissents Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5First Principles & Natural Law Part I: The Foundations of Political Philosophy (part I) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Philosophy and the Law: How Judges Reason Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Landmark Supreme Court Decisions and How They Impact Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5First Principles & Natural Law Part II: The Foundations of Political Philosophy (part II) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProsecuting the President: How Special Prosecutors Hold Presidents Accountable and Protect the Rule of Law Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Executive Juris Doctor: Learn to Think Like a Lawyer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Conviction Machine: Standing Up to Federal Prosecutorial Abuse Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Spirit of Laws (Volume 1) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Federalist Papers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Supreme Court Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Free Speech: The First Amendment in Crisis Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Justice Scalia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nino and Me: My Unusual Friendship with Justice Antonin Scalia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fundamental Cases: The Twentieth Century Courtroom Battles That Changed Our Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Law in America: A Short History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking about the Law Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The American Legal Experience Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Articulate Attorney: Public Speaking for Lawyers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Soul of the First Amendment Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Case Against Lawyers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Constitution: An Introduction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lawyer Bubble: A Profession in Crisis Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Federalist No. 74. The Command of the Military and Naval Forces, and the Pardoning Power of the Executive. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Science & Mathematics For You
Brain Rules (Updated and Expanded): 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thinking in Systems: A Primer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Quantum Physics: What Everyone Needs to Know Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cosmos: A Personal Voyage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Midnight in Chernobyl: The Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Every Tool's a Hammer: Life Is What You Make It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gene: An Intimate History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Science of Time Travel: The Secrets Behind Time Machines, Time Loops, Alternate Realities, and More! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for The University Center for Human Values Series
5 ratings0 reviews