Why is poetry important (or not)?

It seems to me that there are differences between art forms. Stephan is correct that they’re different tools, but for the receiver (I hate the word “consumer”) of art, they are clearly accepted differently. Gore Vidal well makes the point that the novel has lost its place as central and foremost in our culture, replaced by movies and TV. Clearly, reading requires I do more work than passive viewing; reading poetry requires even more work.
I guess I’m less concerned about the tools than what the tools do. A hammer is a tool; so is an Uzi. Yes, one can kill with a hammer, but it is used more often to construct. Movies can be quite well made and enlightening; or they can be pornos (you know, the kind I like). Similarly, there are good novels and crap.
My original post was not a criticism of any particular art form, but how the popularity of certain themes within each art form tells us about future trends in the culture. The less popular movies tell us less about where we’re going than the ones that mezmerize the masses. So the question is, "Where are we going?"
Alcuin