The President Reminds Us Why We Teach Poetry

It was 1963 and Robert Frost had died. President Kennedy offered a glorious eulogy for Frost, but it was also a rally cry for the role of poetry in a free society. It included these lines (offered via Maria Popova):

If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.