A Poetry Film by John Barr
A century ago the early Modernists, in their mania for the experimental, pushed all the boundaries of poetry. The traditional verse forms of 19th century poetry were abandoned for a century of free verse. The nostalgic poetry of the Edwardians (Stands the Church clock at ten to three? And is there honey still for tea?) gave […]
There is no Frigate like a Bookto take us Lands away.– Emily Dickinson I find you in these sunless stacks.Your poems might be uncommonly fine —but your pages darken to brittlenessand you’ve never been checked out. Unlessyour anchor’s weighed and you proceedto find the harbor of another’s mind,nothing will come of the cargo in your hold.I […]
I am pleased to release my latest offering: The Subcutaneous Art: A Collection of Short Essays on Poetry “Poetry. I, too, dislike it.” Marianne Moore wrote that a century ago and it still lives, ubiquitous on T-shirts and coffee mugs. But it’s not really about liking or disliking poetry. Here’s the full quote: Like it […]
Join over 8 thousand subscribers. Sign up to receive poems and brief thoughts about the state of the art of poetry a couple of times a month for free.
As a welcome gift, I’ll send you my free, digital chapbook The Subcutaneous Art: A Collection of Short Essays on Poetry on signup.
This collection comes from my lifelong engagement with poetry—an obsession that has never let go. Together, we’ll explore questions like: What makes a poem, a poem? Can a poet be wrong on everything—and the poem still be right?
