INEWORD P

Monday, May 1, 2023 | Pinewood International American School of Thessaloniki

Throughout history, periods of cultural decline often referred to as "the Dark Ages," have been marked by the suppression of creativity and expression among society's most prominent cultural figures, such as poets, writers, and artists. I argue that we are currently experiencing a similar phenomenon…

As Aristotle once said, "The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance." Literature, poetry, and the arts are not mere frivolous luxuries, but rather, the beating heart of a culture, the mirror on which a society can gaze upon itself and understand its own soul.

But as we look around us, we see a society in which literature is increasingly viewed as a mere academic exercise, or worse, a relic of a bygone era. The very act of reading, once a sacred ritual, has been reduced to a mere pastime. The rise of technology has brought with it a plethora of distractions, and literature is all too easily set aside…

But culture and the humanities are not luxuries; they are not meant only for the intelligentsia, for the academics, for such “niche” groups. They are the very foundation upon which our societies are built. The “Spirit” must become again the very centre of our lives! Simply because it is the only thing that can provide the modern Man with an equal, just, dignified life; it is the only thing that can take the modern Man out of this crisis of civilization, out of this modern “Waste Land”. Thank You!

Bibliography

Eliot, TS. “The Waste Land” by T. S. Eliot.” Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/ poems/47311/the-waste-land.

Rimbaud, Arthur. “Arthur Rimbaud.” Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ arthur-rimbaud.