I was reading the magazine Planet the other day and came across an article in it by the Welsh poet and playwright Damian Gorman which made an impression on me. It sought to explain why cultivation of the arts, especially in divided societies, matter very much.
I read the article carefully and more than once and made the following adaptation. I will let the Welsh poet know I have shared his thoughts.
The arts are useful because they lift people out of themselves. They can help people get out of their own ways and their feelings about the frustrations and conflicts they’re living through. This involves a kind of letting go, an unbuckling and laying down of armour. It can lead to a situation where people arrive to meet ‘the other’ with more than their opinions. Opinions are important, but we are not our opinions. If, in places and times of conflict,
