Lit Chat

Inspiration for being human.

Ars Poetica, Prismatic Power of Poetry, Sunbörn

Thursday June 25, 2026

Happy Thursday humans! Here is this week's literary inspiration for being human...

Let's consider ars poetica...

In A Poet's Glossary, Edward Hirsch offers the following description of ars poetica:

"the ars poetica is a poem that takes the art of poetry—its own means of expression—as its explicit subject. It proposes an aesthetic. Self-referential, uniquely conscious of itself as both a performance and a treatise, the great ars poetica embodies what it is about. It enacts its subject."

There are hundreds of poems with the title "Ars Poetica," and there are many more poems that do not bear the title but would be considered ars poetica in content. What they all have in common is that they themselves demonstrate what is uniquely possible with poetry, even as they explore poetry as their subject. Here are two of my favorite ars poetica:

• "Ars Poetica" by Valzhyna Mort

• "[Untitled]" by Marcelo Morales

Try writing an ars poetica. When you think of poetry, what comes out?

Lets discuss the prismatic power of poetry...

The fourth section of Woman Outside the City is titled "Ars Poetica," and opens with the following lines:

"What are the ways I can divide the light of reality into the
thousands of rays of colors as seen through the prism of a poem?" 

—"Treatise on a Long Journey Home" in Woman Outside the City

Write a poem that acts as a prism, refracting (bending) and dispersing (separating) aspects of a real experience so that its many "wavelengths" can be perceived. After writing the poem, what are you able to see that you couldn't see before? What new realization or insight does it generate for you?

Let's listen to Sunbörn...

A Danish jazz band with a world music fusion sound, Sunbörn has the kind of music that makes you want to relax and groove at the same time. Their 2023 self-titled album showcases their signature instrumentals and their upbeat vibe, and their music lifts you up and transports you around the globe. Their YouTube channel is a treasure trove of clips from live performances and hits from their albums.

What songs and sounds lift you up?