Interesting debate on poetry genes and whether or not everyone can be a
poet. As for the gene thing, it seems highly unlikely. It should be
remembered that the wild claims that are made for the power of genetic
science (Doc discovers gay gene) are made in the context of the politics of
research funding and almost inevitably turn out to be exaggerated, to say
the least. Which is not to say that genes play no role. We are, it seems,
all different at birth.
Not that this discounts the role of nurture, or the environment. We all
experience different lives and life differently. It would appear that the
best guess is that the innate and the environment interact to produce the
individual human being.
As for the innateness of language, those list members who are familiar with
Randolph Healy's work may be waiting for him to interject. The science, in
which I do not claim to be an expert, seems to indicate that there is some
innate human predisposition to language, but that, again, this develops
through interaction with the environment (i.e., there is no innate
predisposition to speak a particular language).
Given the state of our knowledge, there is no good scientific reason for
arguing that there is an innate predisposition in everyone for poetry. I
have an extended family member who is a bloody good car mechanic, but he
would never consider writing, or even reading, poetry. I, on the other hand
find it tricky to fill a car with petrol, but consider that at times I
approach that condition to which we give the name 'poet'. So how come nobody
ever argues for an innate disposition to be a car mechanic.
And it isn't enough to argue for some innate quality of language that
produces poetry. As I've indicated, we do not know enough to even begin to
posit such innate factors, and we might also consider the role of the
environment (personal and cultural) on poetry.
Ireland also had its bardic families. Some of the bards were fine poets, but
most bardic output is the best argument I know against the idea of a poetry
gene.
Billy
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