“A poem should not mean/ but be” (Archibald MacLeish); “I too, dislike it: there are things that are important beyond all this fiddle” (Marianne Moore); “If it doesn’t come bursting out of you/ in spite of everything,/ don’t do it” (Charles Bukowski). These are just a few examples of what poets have to say about their chosen art form. By discussing a wide variety of “ars poetica” poems, past and present, we will try to gain a better understanding of what poetry is (and isn’t), why poetry is important, and how the long tradition of writing about it (since Horace, 66 BC) can be edifying as well as entertaining. We will also pay attention to the craft of poetry–metaphor, and music, and form—as it arises from our reading and will write our own poems (or prose pieces if you prefer) in response.

Kate Sontag is co-editor of After Confession: Poetry as Autobiography (Graywolf). Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, and she has won several prizes. She holds an MFA from The Iowa Writers’ Workshop and is retired from Ripon College where she received a Severy Teaching Award. Since she moved to the Berkshires nine years ago with her husband and two dogs, she has taught poetry classes for OLLI. Two years ago, she became a Certified Therapy Dog handler through Canine Link and works as a team with her poodle Silvie in local schools, libraries, and shelters. She is also Chair of the French Park Dog Park Committee. 

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