The Postmoderns damn near killed poetry, with the help of their Modernist forbears. Prior to the Modernists, the last great school of poetics was the Romantic School, the lone adherents of which in U.S. poetics were Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This is noteworthy because both poets were widely popular in Europe where…
Category Archives: Rules of Poetics
Are You A Member Of The School Of Quietude?
I went searching for the earliest reference to the phrase “School of Quietude” on Ron Silliman’s blog. Silliman is, of course, the person who coined the phrase. Interestingly, Silliman started his blog on August 29, 2002. The first mention of the School of Quietude was on September 2, 2002, but only as a label, or…
Poetic Conventions Should Be Shunned
The final principle of Millennial Poetics, that conventions should be shunned, is almost identical to Principle No. 2, that there is no room for prejudice in poetry. The difference is one of angle of perception. Whereas prejudice refers to an internal reality within the poet, convention refers to an external force upon the poet. It…
Writing Poetry Is A Craft, There Is No Acceptable Method
In this series on Millennial Poetics, we’ve covered a broad range of topics. So far we’ve discussed: 1. Craft is of utmost importance 2. There is no room for prejudice 3. Form is just another element of craft 4. Creativity and craft go hand in hand 5. No subject is taboo 6. There is no…
All Poems Are Individuals
Just as all poets are individuals, so too are all poems individuals and should be judged on their own merits. Just because a certain poet has written 500 great poems doesn’t mean that she won’t pen the occasional bad one. Just because a bad poet has written and published over 1,000 lousy excuses for poetry…
Poetic Language Cannot Be Too Archaic
There’s no such thing as language too archaic for poetry. I know there will be some disagreement on this point, primarily from people who don’t understand the point I’m going to make any way. But if you’ve ever been in a poetry critique group or workshop and someone has said, “That word seems too archaic,”…
Gaudeamus: A Poem That Celebrates The Taboo
Because I felt that my last installment of the Millennial Poetics series was a bit incomplete I was prepared to expound on it a little more in this blog post. Instead, I’m going to reprint a poem from a poet I heard as a feature at a poetry reading tonight. If you’ll remember, the last…
In Poetry, No Subject Is Taboo
To paraphrase Walt Whitman, the father of American poetry, the dirtiest poem of all is the expurgated poem. This gets to the heart of today’s post: No subject in poetry is too taboo. Before I move on to the fifth part of the Millennial Poetics series, let’s review parts 1-4: Poetic Craft Is Of The…
Creativity And Poetic Craft Go Hand In Hand
Continuing the Millennial Poetics series, here’s a recap: Poetic Craft Is Of The Utmost Importance Millennial Poetics: There Is No Room For Prejudice In Poetry Form Is Just Another Element Of Poetic Craft The nine principles of poetics are: 1. Craft is of utmost importance 2. There is no room for prejudice 3. Form is…
Form Is Just Another Element Of Poetic Craft
This is the third part in the Millennial Poetics series. Parts 1 and 2 can be read prior to this one at Poetic Craft (Millennial Poetics, Part 1) and No Room For Prejudice (Millennial Poetics, Part 2) Return here when you finish reading the first two posts. The rest of the series of posts on…
