Sam Hamil

Picture credits

Sam Hamil, (1942- ), authored The Necessity to Speak which was published in 1990 in A Poet’s Work: The Other Side of Poetry. He touches on many controversial issues in the essay, The Viet Nam and other wars, homophobia, battery, the conditions of American prisons, and more, with his first hand knowledge and views of violence being the theme throughout. But the controversies are only that-things that will and should be argued. Hamil’s use of poetry as a communication tool among prisoners, and victims, is commendable and insightful.
He personifies poetry when he asserts “The poet is the vehicle used by poetry so it can touch us.” (Hamil, 550.) In effect, things that happen-and I use the term loosely- are a poem in themselves. That they are recorded is the response to the “event” by the author. On the whole I agree with his analogy, “life” is just waiting to be recorded and poetry is a much more flexible means to do so than say a biography, article or work of fiction.
For instance, in Photograph of September 11th, by Wislawa Szymborska, the impact on the reader about the events of September 11, 2001 is much stronger as she adds real and perceived details to her description. To my knowledge she wasn’t a live witness at Ground Zero that day. Yet through poetry, and the specific genera Poetry of Witness she is able to touch an audience more effectively than had she just described what she saw in a picture. By way of example, she tells us “The photograph halted them in life, and now keeps them, above the earth towards the earth.” Poetry has another dimension, that of honest feelings-a soul-rather than the stark facts of a news report or article.
Hamil also says “Before the first words were written, the writer is a witness who struggles not to flinch, not to look away” (Hamil, 549) Hamil’s anger aside, he touches on an interesting point. If “poetry happens” it is the responsibility of the poet to see and record. The weakness in this line of thinking is perception. (I recognize poetry is not limited to what is observed, but for simplicity’s sake, I’m narrowing the approach here.) Like music, poetry is filtered though the mind of the author/artist. Poetry is often a medium for expressing passionate emotion. This emotion automatically colors the author’s view to their perception. Is there such a thing as an objective observer? I think not, especially in poetry. It is good for the reader to be aware that emotion bias is a part of the poetic process too.

The Other Side of Poerty. Moon Press, 1990. 547-553. Print.

Wislawa Szymborska, “Photograph from September 11” from Monologue of a Dog. Copyright © 2005 by Wislawa Szymborska. Reprinted with permission of Harcourt, Inc.

A blip about Hamil