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sarahcollins's picture

What does it mean for art to be political?

Submitted by sarahcollins on Wed, 12/19/2007 - 5:44pm.
In another class I'm taking this semester, I read that an author I admire  believes all art is political. This gave me pause for thought. What would it mean if that were true? Clearly not all artists mean for their work to be interpreted with a political message. I had a preconceived notion of the pure artist who wrinkles her nose at anyone who wants to besmirch her work by enlisting it in a cause. But then I read that he thinks Pride and Prejudice, for instance, is political because the trials and tribulations of the Bennet sisters hinges upon marriage - because of 18th century British property laws. It's making a comment, a normative observation of the politics of that time period. He probably wrote more about P&P, but it's not relevant. That's not the way I personally would term politicizing art, but I guess what I took away from it is that you really have to define the terms you're working in. 
Ok. Anyways, I value Brooks' poem all the more for how unremittingly painful it is, on all sides, babies' and mother's. Is this very painfulness a political act? I don't think so. It's a very moving poem, and I think it could easily be seized by either side of the debate. 


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