( via / me )

"Whole chapters are dedicated to the evil portents which foretell the fall of various Emperors."

cloven hoof rock
foggy setback

crust strife
sage dowse moon

voy dire

"The books are dense, navigational, built for return visits. The only complication is that the game does not exist."

--What makes something poetry?

Aside from the inescapable timebound (faddish) criteria, these two seem to be permanent:

1. "yugen", or mysterious beauty; i.e. resonance with the subconscious. (in the 18c.--often called the least poetical time for english-- this was not expected nor sought.)

2. "calliditas", or concise aptness. Some--a very few--good poets lack this (Whitman, Jeffers) but there will always be those who refuse them the first rank for this reason.

I would also add: "melopoeia" or phonetic coherence (for some time now, in eclipse); "phanopoeia" or visual imagery; & "logopoeia" or conceptual originality (these are Pound's coinages).

"Poignancy" belongs in here somewhere, but since every age draws the line between pathos & bathos differently, i can only suggest that poetry must be about the human feelings & situations which are thought to be worth exploring at that time. Nowadays bad childhoods & famous artists appear frequently, while epics on the founding of political dynasties would be a very hard sell.

Having one of these excellences is sufficient; but having many of them is still better.

(2003)

Ghoul-haunted woodland.