" It presents insights into social commentary, in particular the relationship between poets and everyone else, like Dransfield says, " Knowing you are completely alone in a desert full of strangers." The strangers are everyone else in Australia and he is stranded amongst them - an outcast. Poetry can be seen as social commentary, but the poet initiates the idea from his or her point of view. I believe both Dawe and Dransfield wrote their poems to express their beliefs to society. They felt strongly about these issues, and felt it was their duty to educate society about them. Like Dawe and Dransfield, other poets feel the need to write about issues they feel strongly about. The social commentaries they provide allow readers to become more aware and open-minded. .
Another insight I gained from poetry is that some poems give a voice to and speak for people marginalised in society. Some poets are concerned with people who are less important and insignificant. This is also social commentary. Willie Perdomo's poem "Papo's Ars Poetica" is written about areas of the world that are full of violence and grief. Perdomo expresses the nature of this issue through his harsh words such as "I"m stuck" and " the rounds of bullets". Perdomo is concerned with these people from areas of urban poverty and wrote "Papo's Ars Poetica" to show people that they are human too and deserve to be recognised. "I"m stuck" is a repeated phrase throughout Perdomo's poem. It describes the world of violence and the fate of these people. Similarly, "Could You Not Write Otherwise, by Alan Paton gives a voice to the victims of racism and violence, particularly in South Africa. Through his poem, Paton describes the abuse of people in this part of the world. He says, "My artless songs become the groans and cries of men." This line describes the treatment of these people and how Paton chooses to write about them. Another poem, "Sea Heroes", by Michael Ladd also gives marginalised people in society a voice, but in a different context.
