Humans cannot live on politics alone.
That was my conclusion after a week that included ludicrous legislating, powerful poetry and sad news from my hometown of El Dorado. Yes, Kansas legislative leaders pandered to the powerful by pushing through a flat tax that would send 70% of benefits to the top 20% of state earners. But amid the cacophony, I was fortunate to hear other voices and make deeper connections.
Those of us who follow the Statehouse closely — professionally or as armchair experts — could stand to be reminded of the wider world. Crazy, I know.
On Wednesday, the same day Senate President Ty Masterson rammed the GOP’s deeply unappetizing tax bill into the gullets of his caucus, I spent the evening at a poetry open mic in downtown Lawrence. The featured reader happened to be Huascar Medina, state poet laureate emeritus and occasional Kansas Reflector opinion contributor.
The evening reminded me of the power of listening. One after another, readers stood on the shallow stage at the Replay Lounge and shared their poetry or prose. We all listened to one another.
How unusual, during a week of intense debate, to sit quietly and connect to the words of someone else.
How powerful.
Medina’s poetry reflected both his experiences and influences, his dialogues with other poets and the creations of other artists. After the event was over, we chatted about poetry and life. Notably, we didn’t speak about Masterson or House Speaker Dan Hawkins. What a relief.
Perhaps this was why former Concord Monitor editor Mike Pride — the journalist I eulogized in this space last year — loved poetry and poets. The work gives you space to consider another person’s expression, outside of the political muddle that dominates state capitals such as Concord and Topeka. Poetry focuses on words, writing and considered brevity in a way that journalists instinctively understand.
On Saturday, the Watkins Museum of History in Lawrence held its annual tribute to the poet William Stafford. Although he made his career in Oregon, Stafford was born in Hutchinson and graduated from the University of Kansas.
Stafford died back in 1993. A small tribute to him at the Bradford Memorial Library in El Dorado showed a teenaged me what modern poetry meant and could accomplish.
Stafford writes about “a thread you follow,” while you age and the world around you changes. But, “while you hold it you can’t get lost.”
That’s what the gathering Wednesday revealed to me. The thread of connections between ourselves and other people, as long as we value and maintain it, keeps us moving in the right direction. As long as we care about one another, even when times change, we can sort out our differences. That’s the hope. That’s my hope.
But as Stafford suggests, not everyone sees or values the thread in the same way. Perhaps they have threads of their own.
Also on Saturday, I learned about the passing of a person who was dear to me.
