Abstract

The article presents a discussion of how attempts to create utopias can produce ironically dystopian effects, citing the educational systems of industrialized nations as an example. An argument is presented that the teaching of poetry in school can serve as a countervailing, utopian force. Quotations from poets such as Wallace Stevens, Kevin Hart, and Rabindranath Tagore are presented. It is said that poetry can serve to improve the educational curriculum by suggesting multiple perspectives and the interplay between the specific and the general