Essays

  Harry Thurston Peck by Joseph S. Salemi A few weeks ago my wife asked me to find a book for her via the internet bookstores. This is now the only practical way to locate out-of-print texts, and I had done the same thing several times in the past for...

. Harmony of Design: Form and Worldview in Classical Chinese Poetry by Adam Sedia China’s uninterrupted literary tradition of three millennia is truly one of the world’s cultural wonders. The introduction of traditional Chinese poetry to the West by Ezra Pound and the Imagists sadly occurred with an agenda behind...

. A Poet First: The Poetry of Thomas Hardy by Adam Sedia Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is known today primarily as one of the great novelists of late Victorian England---and one of the greatest novelists in English. Among his best-known novels are Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Return of...

. Poetry as a Pathway to Critical Thinking —with a focus on metaphor and image Poetry: “the right words in the best order.” —Samuel Taylor Coleridge Critical thinking: “conceptualizing, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, questioning, and exploring information, ideas, and expressions from multiple perspectives.” by Leland James First, on “metaphor,” Robert Frost...

. https://youtu.be/vAjMoMKye0c . . Andrew Benson Brown‘s epic-in-progress, Legends of Liberty, chronicles the major events of the American Revolution. He writes history articles for American Essence magazine and resides in Missouri. Watch his Classical Poets Live videos here.

. Apollo, Mnemosyne, and Poetry Chapter 9 from Gods, Heroes and Us (Bruges Group, May, 2025) by James Sale Our last chapter discussed the imperative for distinguishing between Truth (Veritas) and Falsehood (Mendacium), and how in our modern, digital era this is becoming increasingly difficult. Also, we talked about a shift...

. Book Reviewed: Doorway: The English Cantos, Volume III, by James Sale, 2025 by Cynthia Erlandson It’s been several years since I’ve read Dante’s Divine Comedy; yet as I read James Sale’s Doorway, memories of it echoed in my mind. Clearly, Sale has immersed himself in Dante’s masterpiece and has...

. Apologia "Bring…the books…" ---2 Timothy 4.13 John Calvin, writing on this verse, extolled the benefits that come from reading old and trusted writers. He agreed with Paul that there is wisdom to be gained from all the great minds of the past. And even though his death was nigh,...

. https://youtu.be/lUU-G7-7nKE . . Andrew Benson Brown‘s epic-in-progress, Legends of Liberty, chronicles the major events of the American Revolution. He writes history articles for American Essence magazine and resides in Missouri. Watch his Classical Poets Live videos here.

. Wanted: A Verse Curriculum and Pedagogy David J. Rothman discusses the curriculum of the Poetry Concentration in the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University, which offered a close emphasis on poetic form. He designed the founding curriculum of the Poetry Concentration and led that concentration from...

. The New York Times' Attack on Shen Yun Is an Attack on Arts and Culture by Evan MantykSCP Editor & President In the last six months or so, the New York Times has completely lost its senses and run a series of articles, many on its front page, trying...

. The Potentate and the Pontiff by Joseph S. Salemi I have often argued that the formalist techniques of traditional poetry are ideologically neutral, and can be made to serve any agenda or cause. I still believe that. If the Communist Pablo Neruda, the Fascist Ezra Pound, and the High...

. Jupiter Hammon’s Christmas Poem by Michael Curtis 1761 was a slow, yet interesting year for poetry. The imposter Macpherson announced the discovery of Ossian’s Gaelic Epic and the collected works of the rotted rake Wilmot, Earl of Rochester was published. Romantic passion was seeded, and creative destruction was soon...

. Six Great Dramatic Monologues by Robert Browning by Brian Yapko The dramatic monologue is a unique type of poem: the poet enters the mind of a specific character---usually historic or literary---and then crafts the poem to be entirely in that character’s voice. This allows for many types of monologues,...

. When Poems Are Lyrics and Vice Versa by James A. Tweedie Lyrics are poems written to join with music to form a unity in the hope that the two together will transcend what either the words or music can achieve by themselves, alone. Sometimes, the music is composed first...

. Book Reviewed: Uttering the Unutterable: Aristotle, Religion, and Literature by Louis Groarke, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2023 by Margaret Coats Literature is shortchanged in the modernist and postmodern sphere of professors and critics. Traditional literary forms, including formal verse, tend to be ignored or devalued. The idea of a literary...

. The Trochaic Poems of Dorothy Parker by Joseph S. Salemi A few poets become famous, while most go down into oblivion. But a small scattering of them are eventually categorized as “minor poets,” whose work may be just as good as those who are well known, but who for...

. Great Expectation Classical Poets Student Edition The summary and introduction below is from a newly adapted (UK spellings Americanized and punctuation updated), illustrated, and annotated version of Great Expectations by the Society of Classical Poets. A preview containing the first chapter is below. The complete novel can be purchased...

. https://youtu.be/B9aMXFVpFEk . . Andrew Benson Brown's epic-in-progress, Legends of Liberty, chronicles the major events of the American Revolution. He writes history articles for American Essence magazine and resides in Missouri. Watch his Classical Poets Live videos here.

. New Directions, or Deviations? by Joseph S. Salemi Many years ago I read an account of a discussion between Ezra Pound and an interviewer concerning his poetic career. I don’t recall where it was printed or the interviewer’s name, so I cannot give a reference, but I do know that...

. https://youtu.be/o4TS45A7KEM . Tools for Writing Classical Poetry ---adapted from the video by Andrew Benson Brown Do you want to be forgotten forever? Do you want to be obscure in the annals of history, like all of your ancestors probably are? Do you want to die without a single achievement...

. Postmodernism and Poetry: Final Disintegration and Hope for Renewal “The only way forward from Postmodernism is as a reaction against it—not a reaction in the sense of destruction (what could be more Postmodernist than destruction of destruction?), but reaction as 'backing away from the edge.' Postmodernism is the abyss...

. A Formalist Poet at the Open Mic Part V: Nose Blind by Daniel Kemper After a stressful day, because of issues with which you, dear reader need not concern yourself, I decided to swing by the Capital Gardens and rove over to the section of roses to de-stress a little....

. A Formalist Poet at the Open Mic Part IV: Becoming a Poet Laureate by Daniel Kemper Inflationary times. The invisible hands of markets or of governments have synchronized in some secular mysterium to take something from me. They’ve synchronized so that their stuff is worth more than my stuff. If...

. A Formalist Poet at the Open Mic Part III: Something in the Rafters by Daniel Kemper I wander into the incandescent glow of the poetry center and Patrick is muttering as I walk in the door. He’s wiping his forehead, which means, despite his otherwise abundant curly brown, silver-tipped hair,...

. The Universal Horoscope and Zodiac Twelve figures in the blazoned zodiac Set by the gods in their unchanging track Spin in a regulated, yearly round Until an infant’s primal, wailing sound Puts an end to labor’s strained dilation. Transparencies of detail, implication Refract to a single jewel: this hour,...

. In Spring 2024, UK poets Jeff Eardley and Peter Hartley crossed paths with American poets James A. Tweedie and Margaret coats in England. . . The Day That I Met Jim by Jeff Eardley The rain was horizontal on this English summer’s day. He’d flown in from Seattle and...

. Book Reviewed: Legends of Liberty Volume II by Andrew Benson Brown, Bard Owl Publishing, March 2024 by Theresa Werba Andrew Benson Brown has created a continuation of his Revolutionary War historical mock epic in Legends of Liberty Volume II.  This is a retelling of history which blends fact with...

. Book Reviewed: What Was and Is---Formal Poetry and Free Verse, by Theresa Werba, Bardsinger Books, April 2024 by James A. Tweedie With What Was and Is—Formal Poetry and Free Verse, Theresa Werba (formerly known as Theresa Rodriguez) has gifted those of us who love formal poetry with a collection...

. A Formalist Poet at the Open Mic Part II: The First Reader by Daniel Kemper Keith stands up semi-gracefully in the dead center of the metal folding chairs, gives his patented sugary-surly smile, swings his head in a short semi-circle and swishes his hair back, and tucks it behind his...

. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR0MktU78bA . . Andrew Benson Brown has had poems and reviews published in a few journals. His epic-in-progress, Legends of Liberty, will chronicle the major events of the American Revolution if he lives to complete it. Though he writes history articles for American Essence magazine, he lists his primary occupation...

. Bridgerton’s DEI vs. Historicity They sacrifice true historicity, So DEI trumps authenticity. But Bridgerton and Netflix, they don’t care, Because those ethopaths with neon hair Give fat cats in their boardrooms such a scare. Black aristocracy in England, when? I know a Frenchman with a skillful pen: Dumas was truly aristocracy;...

. The Society of Classical Poets Journal XII has been published! It features poetry, translations, and essays selected from those published on the SCP website between February 1, 2023 and January 31, 2024. See the Introduction and Table of Contents below. The Journal also features exquisite color art created by...

. To Mr. Evan Mantyk, . I know you lead a busy life curating the Society of Classical Poets and I don’t want to waste a bunch of your time with some long-winded missive.  That being said, if you can spare a few moments—can spare a few moments to read...

. https://youtu.be/ICEvMGx4WnY . . Andrew Benson Brown has had poems and reviews published in a few journals. His epic-in-progress, Legends of Liberty, will chronicle the major events of the American Revolution if he lives to complete it. Though he writes history articles for American Essence magazine, he lists his primary occupation...

. The Snares of Simplicity by Joseph S. Salemi Liberals, Communists, and capitalists all share one dangerous and demonically-prompted trait. They want to simplify. The complexities and nuances of any traditionalist society irk them no end, and they are driven by an impulse to flatten and homogenize everything. To understand...

. A Formalist Poet at the Open Mic Part I: Before the Reading by Daniel Kemper A two-story, square shaped “U” made of corrugated tin. Two theaters, a haunted attic. A gravel lot with reserved parking spaces—handicapped—and unofficial reservations. Some are simply old. Nestled deferentially in the corner, the SPC,...

(Advertisement) Request for Papers---PAMLA 2024 Conference Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association . Deadline for Proposals: April 30, 2024 . Conference Details The conference will be held from Wednesday, November 6 through Sunday, November 10, 2024 at Margaritaville Resort, Palm Springs, California. . Description: The standing Poetry and Poetics session...

. The Ten Best Poems to Analyze by Adam Sedia The Roman poet Horace famously set forth the twofold purpose of poetry: to teach and to delight. The sheer aesthetic and imaginative language of poetry is often on its own enough to delight, but in analyzing the poem teaching and...

10 Poems on Builders & Buildings by Michael Curtis . Temples and architects, builders and buildings are like poets and poems, each creates rooms, stanzas, within which we and our ideas have life. Sometimes, a poem is inscribed upon a stylobate, column, or entablature. Sometimes the poem is a dedication,...