Defense of Poetry, Mongolian Poet Galsan Tschinag

¶ … Defense of Poetry," Mongolian poet Galsan Tschinag defines poetry as the "interrelation between Nature and Man." Although writing about completely different types of poetry and poets, Robert Bly comes to similar conclusions about the function of poetry. In "A Meditation on a Poem by Goethe," Bly states that during the early twentieth century, there was a crossroads in literature. The dominant form of literature was author- or poet-focused. With the ego at the helm, the poems that were written promoted the inner psychological state of human beings. However, there is a different type of poetry, according to Bly. That type of poetry can be exemplified by the likes of Goethe, who imparted a sense of awe and wonder at nature. It is the feeling of being overwhelmed by nature that characterizes the second type of poetry, which is the same type of poetry that Tschinag describes in "Defense of Poetry." Therefore, both Bly and Tschinag view poetry as an important defense against the corrupting forces of a modernity that destroys the connection between the human and the natural world.

The Mongolian Tuvas, the tribes to which Galsan Tschinag belongs, had no written script. Their poetry took on a completely different form than the written word, which was only used recently by Mongolians to render Mongolian literature. Yet poetry has been integral to the Mongolian culture. In "Defense of Poetry," Tschinag also claims that poetry and Shamanism are inseparable: "my first verses were shamanic chants," he states. It is precisely the continuation of the tradition of poetry that will keep Tschinag's connection with nature alive even as he writes poems in languages that are not part of his own culture. Bly also notes that poetry that reconnects the person with nature are more relevant now, because they hedge against the destruction of a simpler life.

On poem by Tschinag that exemplifies the concept of poetry being the "defense of humanity, defense of authenticity…defense of the word of the mother tongue against the foreign word," is "Now I stood behind you." As Tschinag points out, the poem is apparently a love poem. A love poem is traditionally one that reveals the inner state of the lover or beloved; usually the former pines for the latter. In Tschinag's poem, though, the love between the narrator and the object of desire is almost secondary to the overarching theme and imagery of nature.