Where did the cool poets go?

[enkindledpulsar]

So I've been thinking a bunch about how poets and writers used to be censored all the time and books were banned and poets were rowdy horrible people. And now everything seems tamed down. Is it because our society accepts more boundary pushing ideas or is it because the age of the Beats and the bad boys is over?
I find controversy a marketing aspect.
I mean, will any of my work ever be good enough to be banned? Can you imagine the thrill of being the author of a banned book? Imagine having to change countries because of something you wrote and had the guts to publish!
So what happened? Has society gotten as loud or louder than the poets or is something else afoot?

[notmike]

I agree. Poets like Lord Byron were some of the coolest people ever, they rebelled against societal norms, and pushed the boundaries. Unfortunately, in today's society those boundaries can't be pushed too easily, or are virtually non existent. My case and point is Alan Moore, who granted isn't a poet, but the man had 2 wives, a gay lover to the side, and worshipped a snake god. If people don't complain about that too vocally, I shudder to think what has to be done.
On another note, it is still possible to get books banned and get them to be popular. Go against the church, then News stations will talk about it, and people read it. Case and point, the DaVinci Code.

[latinrevenant]

I think, actually, people in general are just less. . . active. We, as a race, are headed down that deplorable path of Orwellian society.

For example, the reason "cool" artists were banned and the like is because people would recognize and understand what said poets, writers, painters, etc. were saying, what they meant, and were passionate as to how it affected them.

Now-a-days, no one cares. I've seen documentaries regarding things that are absolutely horrible, that greatly affect our every day lives and do everything from exploit absolutely immoral ways to amass money to deteriorate our well being and life-spans—but, despite the vehement advertising of said documentaries, no one really cares. We watch it, are angered for about a week, then go on about our daily lives as opposed to uprising and protesting (as people did before; thus, poems and pieces of writings that caused such a reaction were banned).

Also, that's not to say that nothing is banned or censored. They most certainly are, but they are done in a far less obvious, far less noticeable, and far more sleazy manner. For example, the City of Boston, at one point, were going to set up a bunch of "charging stations" (for electronic cars) in the parking garages. Automotive companies, in turn, poured in their gratuitous amounts of money to stop this—and, of course, it stopped.

Plenty of things are still censored and banned, it's just we, as a people, are far more ignorant.

[notdan]

I'm not sure what you guys are doing wrong, but I like to think of myself as a cool poet.

I think the biggest reason why poets and other artists aren't seen as so cool anymore (in the sense that we're not being censored or yelled at, and the like) is because society is louder. Writing a poem about sex or threesomes or whatever is still a little raunchy, but no one's going to create a massive uproar about it. Sure your poem may never be read in public school or by most religious circles, but society really doesn't care that much. Raunchy, scandalous art of that nature isn't rare anymore. Us artists are expected to push buttons and walk the line between acceptable and vulgar.

The very fact that we're worried about the lack of cool poets is a clear sign, though: We need to embrace the avant-garde!

And not just by being fucked up or creepy or whatever. Worshiping a snake god isn't going to impress anyone by itself. You have to be all political-like.