Ars Poetica

If you are a writer.. or even a reader.. one should explore the meaning and historical value of "ars poetica".. a phrase that translates to the art of poetry... yet means so much more. how our actions when expressed, should actually feel like the expression.. writing about the beauty of poetry, or signing melodies about the love of each tune and voice..

here are a few links...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ars_Poetica
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15222
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19947
http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/HoraceArsPoetica.htm


and one of the most famous, and my favorite piece..

Ars Poetic
by : Archibald MacLeish ( read on who he is as well!)

A poem should be palpable and mute
As a globed fruit,
Dumb
As old medallions to the thumb,
Silent as the sleeve-worn stone
Of casement ledges where the moss has grown --
A poem should be wordless
As the flight of birds.
*
A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs,
Leaving, as the moon releases
Twig by twig the night-entangled trees,
Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves,
Memory by memory the mind --
A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs.
*
A poem should be equal to
Not true.
For all the history of grief
An empty doorway and a maple leaf.
For love
The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea --
A poem should not mean
But be.

the last line be far is the most eloquent summary of what ars poetica is.. and should be.. a poem should not mean but simply be. the existence of its powers should magnify its greatness.. and one should honor it for being, instead of describing.. and that the description aligns with the reality.. like a literary comic book.. it is. real.

thanks. enjoy.