"Poets are always ahead of things in a certain way, their sense of language and their vision"

Jim Jarmusch’s words invite reflection on the peculiar role poets play in society and culture. Poets commune deeply with the intricate threads of language, not just wielding words, but feeling their textures, subtleties, and potential. They venture into ambiguities and possibilities that ordinary discourse overlooks, forging connections and expressions that others may only come to understand long after the poem is written. Through this heightened linguistic sensitivity, poets detect shifts and undercurrents in collective feeling or thought. They often find new ways of naming experiences for which no precise terms exist, sensing the tremors or aspirations within a culture before those realities are fully acknowledged.

A poet’s vision draws from these linguistic gifts. Their eyes perceive the overlooked, the hidden, and the emergent. They see the world not just as it is, but as it could be or will be, illuminating truths just below the surface. This vision is as much about feeling and intuition as about intellect. Where others might be tethered to habit, convention, and what’s already been said or seen, the poet pushes past these boundaries, often expressing what others cannot yet articulate. This persistent forward movement places poets in the realm of anticipation, they are, as Jarmusch notes, ahead of things.

Society has often looked to its poets as sensitive barometers of change or disquiet, listening for what they reveal about personal or communal realities. In times of upheaval, confusion, or possibility, poets give form to the inchoate, helping others make sense of changing times. Their aheadness is not always quantifiable or immediate; it may only become clear in retrospect, as the rest of the world catches up to what the poet has already glimpsed or expressed. Through their sense of language and their vision, poets both create and discover the future, shaping how we understand ourselves and our world.