Why is poetry important?
Poetry survives in Canada under the radar. It is under the radar that our true selves are able to flourish both as readers and writers. Shostokovich's string quartets evaded/eluded censorship under the radar in the former Soviet Union. The difference between Canada and the Soviet Union is that poetry in Canada is under the radar due to indifference rather than dictatorship. By showing up on the radar, poets throughout history have been at risk of persecution and imprisonment. In prison a memorized poem can keep one alive or I like to hope this is possible.
W.H. Auden's thoughts are also important. In 1938 he wrote,
The primary function of poetry, as of all the arts, is to make us more aware of ourselves and the world around us. I do not know if such increased awareness makes us more moral or more efficient: I hope not.
I think it makes us more human, and I am quite certain it makes us more difficult to deceive, which is why, perhaps, all totalitarian theories of the State, from Plato's downwards, have deeply mistrusted the arts. They notice and say too much, and the neighbours start talking. (From The Later Auden by Edward Mendelson).
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