Letters on Poetry and Art

 

 

CONTENTS

 

Pre-content

 

 

PART ONE
POETRY AND ITS CREATION

     
 

Section One. The Sources of Poetry

   

Poetic Creation

   

Sources of Inspiration

   

Overhead Poetry

   

Examples of Overhead Poetry

     
 

Section Two. The Poetry of the Spirit

   

Psychic, Mystic and Spiritual Poetry

   

Poet, Yogi, Rishi, Prophet, Genius

   

The Poet and the Poem

     
 

Section Three. Poetic Technique

   

Technique, Inspiration, Artistry

   

Rhythm

   

English Metres

   

Greek and Latin Classical Metres

   

Quantitative Metre in English and Bengali

   

Metrical Experiments in Bengali

   

Rhyme

   

English Poetic Forms

   

Substance, Style, Diction

   

Grades of Perfection in Poetic Style

   

Examples of Grades of Perfection in Poetic Style

     
 

Section Four. Translation

   

Translation: Theory

   

Translation: Practice

     
 

PART TWO
ON HIS OWN AND OTHERS’ POETRY

     
 

Section One. On His Poetry and Poetic Method

   

Inspiration, Effort, Development

   

Early Poetic Influences

   

On Early Translations and Poems

   

On Poems Published in Ahana and Other Poems

   

Metrical Experiments

   

On Some Poems Written during the 1930s

   

On Savitri

   

Comments on Some Remarks by a Critic

   

On the Publication of His Poetry

     
 

Section Two. On Poets and Poetry

   

Great Poets of the World

   

Remarks on Individual Poets

   

Comments on Some Examples of Western Poetry (up to 1900)

   

Twentieth-Century Poetry

   

Comments on Examples of Twentieth-Century Poetry

   

Indian Poetry in English

   

Poets of the Ashram

   

Comments on the Work of Poets of the Ashram

   

Philosophers, Intellectuals, Novelists and Musicians

   

Comments on Some Passages of Prose

     
 

Section Three. Practical Guidance for Aspiring Writers

   

Guidance in Writing Poetry

   

Guidance in Writing Prose

   

Remarks on English Pronunciation

   

Remarks on English Usage

   

Remarks on Bengali Usage

     
 

PART THREE
LITERATURE, ART, BEAUTY AND YOGA

     
 

Section One.  Appreciation of Poetry and the Arts

   

Appreciation of Poetry

   

Appreciation of the Arts in General

   

Comparison of the Arts

   

Appreciation of Music

     
 

Section Two. On the Visual Arts

   

General Remarks on the Visual Arts

   

Problems of the Painter

   

Painting in the Ashram

     
 

Section Three. Beauty and Its Appreciation

   

General Remarks on Beauty

   

Appreciation of Beauty

     
 

Section Four. Literature, Art, Music and the Practice of Yoga

   

Literature and Yoga

   

Painting, Music, Dance and Yoga

     
 

APPENDIXES

   

Appendix I. The Problem of the Hexameter

   

Appendix II. An Answer to a Criticism

   

Appendix III. Remarks on a Review

     
 

NOTE ON THE TEXTS


VOLUME 27

THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO

© Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust 2004

Published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department

Printed at Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, Pondicherry

PRINTED IN INDIA


 

Letters on Poetry and Art

 


Publisher's Note

 

Letters on Poetry and Art comprises letters written by Sri Aurobindo on poetry and other forms of literature, painting and the other arts, beauty, aesthetics and the relation of these to the practice of yoga. He wrote most of these letters to members of his ashram during the 1930s and 1940s, primarily between 1931 and 1937. Only around a sixth of the letters were published during his lifetime. The rest have been transcribed from his manuscripts.

The present volume is the first collection of Sri Aurobindo's letters on poetry, literature, art and aesthetics to bear the title Letters on Poetry and Art. It incorporates material from three previous books: (1) Letters on Poetry, Literature and Art; (2) Letters on "Savitri", and (3) On Himself (section entitled "The Poet and the Critic"). It also contains around five hundred letters that have not appeared in any previous collection published under his name. The arrangement is that of the editors. The texts of the letters have been checked against all available manuscripts and printed versions.