On Sat, 2 Mar 2002, Justin Schwartz wrote:
> >
> >Or, as my poetry profs like Henry Carlyle like to say, "If you've
> >got a message, send it Western Union". Red propaganda dressed up in
> >tired cliches is not art.
> >
> >Miles
> >
>
> Nothing dressed up in tired cliches is (good) art, but that is because it
> cliched, not because it has a message. Lots of great art has a message:
>
> Rise like lions after slumber
> In unvanquishable number
> Shake to earth the chains like dew
> That in sleep have fall'n on you
> Ye are many, They are few!
>
> --Shelly, The Masque of Anarchy
>
> A simple message, no slants, directly spoken, and as fresh today as it was
> in 1817. Western union couldn't improve it.
>
Okay, yeah, there are some good poems with a Direct Political Message. But there does seem to be something about an earnest interest to include a political message in art that increases the probability of including tired cliches.
Or maybe I'm just jealous. I've written quite a few poems and songs over the years, and I've never been able to produce any good art with a coherent political message.
Miles