Whats happened to the american poets?

[jon@af]

In my American Literature class we are studying the writings of many great poets such as Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, the always dark works of Edgar Allen Poe, and of course William Shakespeare. This leads me to ask, where are all the great poems of this time and place? Surely there are people out there who view the world as they did. It used to be that once a poet became known, families knew them by name and newspapers all over the place would publish their work. Now, im not saying there arent great poets these days, but i dont ever hear about them... ever. I go to the local book store and read great poems but they are by people i have never heard of. Maya Angelou is basically the only modern poet that is known todayby most average people, and there are still a lot who dont even know who she is. of course there are also those who dont know who the previously mentioned poets are either. Has our country changed so much that even something that was looked upon as a great thing has now become something no one cares about? if so, how depressing.

[tonioseven]

Don't forget about Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks! I think the advent of technology in our society should make it easier to produce such literary greatness but instead, the opposite has happened Most people would rather watch someone else excercise their creativity than take the initiative to excercise thier own creativity! I agree, such a waste. My wife is working on a novel if that's any consolation to the situation

[jon@af]

I myself do a bit of writing too. What type of novel is your wife working on?

[tonioseven]

Actually she's working on a romance novel but so far, it has a pretty good beginning. She's also planning to write some childrens' books as well. She was an English Lit/ Pre-Law major in college; I liked her because she was the smartest young woman I'd ever met! Except for marrying me that is!!