by phillipw | Jul 16, 2020 | AN, PH, PL, PO
Sovereignty Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “Is it simply that people who philosophize think that people who produce, consume, or appreciate poetry (the philopoiêtai) have the wrong...
by phillipw | Jul 15, 2020 | AN, EN
Scorn Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “Enargeîs is the technical term ‘for divine epiphany: a word that contains the dazzle of “white,” argós, which comes to designate a pure,...
by phillipw | Jul 15, 2020 | AN, BO, Ho
Scholarly Blindness “Since before 450 BC there was no prose literature, our only windows on the ancient world are the poems.” ~ Michael Schmidt, The First Poets, 8 It only goes to show that scholars love To focus narrowly. He looked so hard At Greeks that he is...
by phillipw | Jul 14, 2020 | AN, AP, DE, GR, PR
Ruined Myth and Heavy Reality Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The pillars look more like some backbones stripped Of skin and muscle than Apollo’s space In Delphi and are squat and stodgy, chipped And...
by phillipw | Jul 14, 2020 | AN, CE, EU, HA, IX, MY
Poetry Makes a Different Exploration of the Realm of Death No poet thinks about the path the wife Of Orpheus took down to Hades. Not One poet ever writes about how harshly rife That journey was. The poisoned bride’s death lot Was just the same as anyone’s. The path...
by phillipw | Jul 14, 2020 | AN, GR, PO
Poetry, Crime, and Government “Poets are the legislators of the world.” ~ Shelley The ancient Greeks still live. They are not dead. Their poetry from then speaks still upon Some pages on our shelves. The scholar’s head Refuses to let go that singing dawn. These...