The Necessity to Speak- Sam Hamill

Sam Hamill’s essay “The Necessity to Speak” talks about the importance of taking responsibility for our actions and not being afraid to talk about the “uncomfortable” parts of life. He talks about us as human not being able to “bear very much reality” in life. He uses the example of teen pregnancy. Parents sometimes believe that if they do not discuss sex in the household that their children will not take part in it. This is obviously naive and completely untrue. The best thing that a parent can to is provide the information concerning contraceptives to their children. However, as Hamill also talks about in his essay, we don’t want to ruin our innocence with the reality of the situation. Hamill says that a “true poet is often faced with the difficult task of telling people what they already know but do not want to hear.” This theme is echoed throughout his essay.

Hamill also discusses the way that we view violence in our society. It is okay for a man to spank his child, but this in turn will create a more violent adult from the battered child. We turn our heads and ignore the battered woman and children, because we don’t really want to “deal” with it. This essay relates well to the poems of witness that we read this week because the people from these poems are speaking. They are telling of the dark parts of life. Much like the poem “The Woman Hanging From the Thirteenth Floor Window”. This poem tells the story of how this woman came to the point of wanting to end her life. 

Hamill’s essay also a tells a truth about poetry itself. He shows that you don’t have to have rhyme or rhythm to have poetry. Hamill says that the “poet is the vehicle used by poetry so that the IT can touch us.” Personally, I enjoyed this essay because Hamill was kurt and to the point about things. His points made sense and he did a great job giving tons of information and facts to support the multiple thesis throughout the essay.

Image Source: http://innerreflectionstranscribed.wordpress.com/2009/05/

Here is a link to a short biography on Sam Hamill. Very interesting man.