I’ve heard Dana Gioia speak just once, but it was memorable and I continue to be inspired by his insights.
He has excellent language that helps those of us seeking to support the arts in our communities. I invite you to watch this Stanford graduation speech and use some of his language if it works for you.
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3 thoughts on “Dana Gioia’s Commencement Speech at Stanford”
This is great reading! Dan Gioia is wonderfully humorous and wise, and offers this pearl: “Adult life begins in a child’s imagination…” So true! Thanks to Alyson, Marie
I love his poem. Thanks!
Wow! What an amazing speech. Thank you Alyson. I particularly love the last two paragraphs describing the function and importance of art within a culture and it’s individuals. “Art is an irreplaceable way of understanding and expressing the world—equal to but distinct from scientific and conceptual methods. Art addresses us in the fullness of our being—simultaneously speaking to our intellect, emotions, intuition, imagination, memory, and physical senses. There are some truths about life that can be expressed only as stories, or songs, or images. Art delights, instructs, consoles. It educates our emotions. And it remembers. As Robert Frost once said about poetry, “It is a way of remembering that which it would impoverish us to forget.” Art awakens, enlarges, refines, and restores our humanity. You don’t outgrow art. The same work can mean something different at each stage of your life. A good book changes as you change.”