CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Some people will roll their eyes. They’ll say it’s only $200 a year. What’s the big deal?
This is more of a philosophical debate over what should government be involved in, and what it shouldn’t.
Should Wausau have a poet laureate? Wausau named Dawn Anderson as its first poet laureate last year. After being picked, she said that she doesn’t consider herself to be the best poet in Wausau, but she said friends and family encouraged her to seek out the position.
I don’t know Ms. Anderson, and I’m the wrong person to judge her poetry. Art, I am told, exists on its own terms. Whether or not it is pleasing to me is largely irrelevant. Ms. Anderson’s work has not reached my ears.
After hearing that Wausau wanted a poet laureate, I thought that I was the right person for the job. I already have a heavy writing load; I write each ‘This Day’ feature and each of these commentaries. I used to teach college-level writing as a part-time instructor. I immediately sat down and wrote my first poem, called ‘The Money Tree’. In it, the tree, with branches that reach up to the mayor’s office window, blooms 20s and 50s which can be harvested when the city goes on a spending binge. If I may pat myself on the back, “The Money Tree” was an excellent poem. But it took a long time to write, and did not come naturally to me. Writing a poem each week, or even each month, would have been a chore, not a joy.
My point is this: poetry is not something that the free-spending city of Wausau should spend any money on… even the smallest amounts. Poetry can and should be taught in our schools. Our library can host poetry readings and poetry slams. Rap music, the unlistenable poetry of the streets, is forever growing along with its unspeakably filthy language.
Wausau has a lot of motorcycle riders; should the city pony up $200 for an official ‘Leader of the Pack’? We have golfers; so how about an ‘Official City Duffer’? People here love to fish; should we have an official ‘Surgin’ Stugeon?’ I’ve noticed that drinking is a favorite pastime here; are we looking for an honorary town lush?
As a conservative, I want government out of as many things as possible. Those from the opposite side of the spectrum can’t imagine the limits of things that government should stay out of.
Chris Conley
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