Role of poetry in inspiring social change

KARACHI: Panellists at an interactive dialogue on ‘Poetry and Reconciliation’ maintained that art and poetry plays a pivotal role in maintaining peace and tranquillity in the society. The session, which was moderated by journalist Wajeeh Sani, included veteran poet Anwar Shaoor, Ambreen Haseeb Ambar and AH Khanzada as panellists at the Media Baithak on Saturday. Sani kicked off the session by saying that a society without poetry would lack expression to describe itself, adding that a positive social change will remain a distant dream without poetic aesthetics. Ambar said that terrorism and conflict are not limited to a particular area or region. It is in fact a global problem, hence a great poet is the one who expresses his care not for one particular group of people but calls for peace for everyone. Khanzada said that a poet takes the responsibility of conveying the emotions of society through their verses and the majority of poets call for love, peace and respect for others.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2019.