The importance of poetry, the arts, and the underpriveleged.

There are people in your city, among you in the crowd, or on a street corner, with incredible talents waiting to be discovered. They are that child or adult without a home, they make little to pay their bills, the obscure ones, the ones without the means to rise up beyond themselves to be known, because of their dilemmas or profession. They could be the next Shakespeare, Van Gogh, or Elizabeth Barrett Browning, sitting in a bus station playing guitar, or reading poetry out loud on a downtown corner you throw spare change at.

The fact is very little funding is available to these underprivileged individuals, it mainly goes to larger organizations and schools, and the educated. What a shame, considering what might be missed, what masterpieces might be waiting to be uncovered. There are some programs available, but how far will they go to help some of these underprivileged artisans and poets, and give them a place in society?

If you have an old painting on your wall, or a book of poetry, whether it's worth $100,000, or $10.00, look at it and think about the artist behind those works, instead of just the creation you enjoy. Did you know most artists and poets through out history were poor? Many made very little off of all their hard work and intellect, until they were deceased, ironic.

Most artisans and poets will tell you, they do it not for the money, but for their own enjoyment, and for the enjoyment of others. To a degree that is mostly true, but they still feel they should achieve a living of some kind for all their intellect that gets poured into their works.

Funding should be made more readily available for the underprivileged artisans and poets, to give them a hand up, to help them publish that book or create that next master piece. Think of what the world would be like if they disappeared. A lot of bare walls and book shelves in your home? It is happening as we speak.

A world without poetry and artisans would be very dull indeed. Does a doctor, or lawyer perform a service? Do they get paid well for the art form they produce? Time to recognize what poets and artisans are worth, not separate from the service and joy they produce.

Don't you think it's about time to help the next Shakespeare, Van Gogh, or Elizabeth Barrett Browning, sitting on the street corner in the rain?

~ William Wooding ~ ©