Why You Should Be Memorizing Poetry
Poetry Memorization is a Disappearing Skill
Memorization and recitation of poetry were once standard parts of children’s education. Over the past century though, poetry has been steadily disappearing from the classroom curriculum. Although it varies from school to school, and country to country, students are generally reading less poetry and rarely being asked to memorize or recite it.
I went to school in the nineties and the very early 2000s, and as far as I can remember, I only ever had to memorize one poem throughout my entire education. I spoke with my parents, who grew up in the sixties, and they remembered a similar lack of poetry. In contrast, for my grandparents’ generation, memorizing poetry was a regular part of their education.
My family’s experiences mirror the broader trend throughout the United States — and most of the world — during the 20th century: the de-emphasis of poetry in education. These days, most of us have grown up without ever really learning to memorize poetry in school. As a consequence, few of us even consider memorizing poetry as adults.
My Decision to Memorize Poetry
I’ve been a fan of poetry for most of my adult life, but I’m normally a less-than-ideal reader. I have a bad habit of reading through…
