Celebrating Poetry’s Place in Culture

Posted March 29, 2024March 13, 2025 in English & Media Studies, Faculty, Stories

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Poetry isn’t just words on a page—it’s rhythm, voice, and history intertwined. In Rhyme and Reason, Eileen Reinhard explores how Tyler Hoffman, chair of the Department of English and Communication at Rutgers University–Camden, brings poetry to life for students and scholars alike. With a career dedicated to studying poets such as Robert Frost and Walt Whitman, Hoffman sees poetry as a vital force that shapes culture and thought. He describes any occasion to celebrate poetry as “terrific,” a sentiment that aligns perfectly with National Poetry Month’s mission to recognize poetry’s lasting influence. His work not only examines the historical weight of poetry but also encourages students to engage with it creatively, experimenting with form and performance.

Reinhard highlights Hoffman’s scholarly focus on Frost, the subject of his first book, Robert Frost and the Politics of Poetry. To mark Frost’s 150th birthday, he returned to Dartmouth, his alma mater and Frost’s former school, to deliver a lecture on the poet’s enduring impact. His research extends beyond Frost to figures like Whitman, whose later writings are the focus of his current book project. He has also written about Emily Dickinson and William Carlos Williams, exploring how poetry both preserves history and reinvents itself across generations. More than an academic pursuit, Hoffman sees poetry as something to be experienced—spoken, performed, and understood in new ways.

Rhyme and Reason also highlights the opportunities Rutgers-Camden provides for students to immerse themselves in poetry and media. Reinhard points to the English faculty who lead three outstanding graduate programs: the Creative Writing MFA, the English and Media Studies MA, and the MA and MPS in Emerging Media. These programs emphasize both creative and critical approaches, preparing students for careers in writing, teaching, and beyond. Hoffman’s course, “How to Write a Poem,” encourages students to experiment with different poetic styles, reinforcing his belief that poetry is as much about sound and rhythm as it is about meaning. His book American Poetry in Performance: From Walt Whitman to Hip Hop explores this very idea, recovering poetry’s tradition as a spoken art. Reinhard makes clear that Rutgers-Camden is not just a place to study poetry—it’s a place where poetry is practiced, performed, and brought to life.

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