To the editor:

Kansas Rep. Kenny Wilk of Lansing is to be commended for his initiative to make life sciences research and development a major segment of the state economy. The proposed Kansas Economic Growth Act is exactly what is needed to build programs and advance Kansas University’s status as a major research university.

However, I fail to understand why it was necessary for Rep. Wilk to slam research in the humanities. “This is not about studying poetry,” he was quoted as saying. “This is about new discovery and creating jobs.”

Scientists don’t hold a monopoly on the cutting edge of knowledge. Poets and the people who study them also are in the business of “new discovery,” applying the full intensity of their emotional, artistic and intellectual talents to making sense of the human experience. Their contributions give life meaning and vastly enhance its value. For many, literature and poetry are among the things that make life — the object of life sciences — worth living.

Lawrence received international attention for programs honoring native son Langston Hughes, a distinguished poet whose work has been the subject of KU research funded by the National Endowment for Humanities. The Hall Center for the Humanities at KU has seminars for the study of poetry in several languages. Poetry doesn’t create jobs? Ask the employees of Hallmark Cards.

There is no reason why Kansas cannot find reason for growth in both life sciences and poetry. I’m certain the chancellor of KU, a professor of English, would agree.

John W. Hoopes,

Lawrence