Verrey Greene

attacking the idea of “Poetics”


Poetics is a fashionable term in many institutions which teach Creative Writing and English Literature.

It can be traced back to Aristotle.

Isn’t poetry older than ancient Greek civilisation?

Do rational theories necessarily cover all possible approaches to poetry?

Surely poetry is something wild, emerging from an intoxicated state.

Robert Graves weaves together a cloud of possibilities from pre-Hellenic sources in The White Goddess.

In his essay Chaos Never Died, Hakim Bey reminds us that sedentary, “civilised” lifestyle is a recent phenomenon for our species.

Dig deeper!

Remember your ancestors’ shamanic knowledge.

Stop hiding behind ancient Greeks for authority.

Smash “Poetics”!




Verrey Greene
Adelaide
2008