Lyric poetry in the information society

Abstract

Poetry seems to have become a kind of a foreign body in the modern society because it does not contain what we call information. But while information conveys actual truth, poetry can articulate the other one: while the permanent flood of information puts people into constant tension and emotional unrest, poetry can provide counterbalance. With the information society spreading worldwide, new forms of culture have emerged alongside with new forms of work, and rap is one of them. Just as one recognizes both opportunities and dangers in the information society, this new form of poetry is also judged aesthetically, ethically and sociologically in very different ways. This is not surprising, since there are very ordinary as well as artistic forms of rap.