Contemporary Philosopher Poets To Read Up On

Image source: wordpress.com

Poetry has always been tied to the philosophical. The idea of questioning and re-imagining the world and the concepts that people use to make sense of it are shared by these disciplines. William Blake, T.S. Eliot, and middle-eastern poets Hafiz and Rumi are notable names in this tradition. But the movement is not lost among contemporary poets. Here are some that have philosophical themes prevalent in their work.

John Koethe: This award-winning poet began writing poetry as an undergraduate at Princeton University and received his doctorate from Harvard. His work primarily focuses on the philosophy of language, Wittgenstein, and epistemology. He also publishes poetry and essays on literary theory.

Image source: inverse.com

Robert Hass: Pulitzer winner Hass is the author of “Time and Materials,” easily his most thought-provoking poetry collection that deals with many philosophical concerns and conceits. For an earlier example of his preoccupation with philosophy in poetry, read the poem “Meditation at Lagunitas.”

Mark Strand: The US Poet Laureate is most known for “Blizzard of One,” which got him the Pulitzer Prize. Sadly, Strand passed away in 2014. His work displays deceptively simple diction and are rooted in everyday things that are steep in philosophy and paradoxes. Check out “Keeping Things Whole” and “Coming to This.”

Brendan Wetzel is a dean’s list philosophy student at Rider University. He is President of Phi Sigma Tau, the International Honor Society of Philosophy. More on Brendan’s interests here.

Read the Lines Before Reading Between them: Notes on Poetry

Most students confronted with poetry tend to detest it, grappling with the seeming pressure to reconcile with the intended meaning immediately. This is a sad truth about how this type of literature often gets taught. Most of the time the reader is left with the feeling that the whole act of analyzing a poem is but an elaborate guessing game.

Image source: freelancewriting.com

A better perspective is to read the lines first. Instead of proverbially trying to “read between the lines,” this will help students become more aware of other elements that make a poem work. Jumping into the meaning might as well be a futile act, as (except for very few instances) the poet will not be around to explain the poem. By close-reading the words and the lines, we get to understand important devices used like figures of speech, literary devices, and things like cadence, rhythm, and tone.

According to the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, poetry is “best words in the best order.” This quote tells to focus more on diction (words) and syntax (order). This is a good take on poetry, as it liberates us from the burden of meaning, which is often relative both culturally and contextually. What could be relevant to an American reader can be as important and life-changing for someone in, say, Asia.

Ultimately, poetry is about savoring words, not seeking for the immediately sublime. Not everything opens up as quickly as one wants, but if a person is patient with the poet’s technique and style, the insight will eventually unravel. So, don’t just quickly interpret and try to sound deep when reading a poem. Focus on meaningfulness, not meaning.

Image source: gatheringbooks.org

A student of Rider University, Brendan Wetzel was a recipient of the Dean Scholarship, Leadership Scholarship, the Guy Stroh Philosophy Scholarship, and the Lower Makefield Historical Society Scholarship. Writing is among his interests. For more similar reads, drop by this blog.