Learning Prompt

Ars Poetica

Originally Published: April 27, 2020

A few questions to consider, on your own in writing, or in discussion with others:
Do you think of yourself as a writer? Why or why not? What might it mean for you to think of yourself as a writer and take that seriously? Today, you’ll explore your poetic voice through Ars Poetica.

Ars Poetica is Latin for “the art of poetry.” An Ars Poetica is a poem that explains or makes claims about the “art of poetry,” or a meditation on poetry using the form and techniques of a poem. Ancient Roman poet Horace’s Ars Poetica, written in the 19th century B.C., is the foundation for the tradition. Ars Poeticas are often very personal, and have changed a ton since their inception.

More questions to consider:
Why might someone write a manifesto/Ars Poetica piece? What is their purpose?

On a sheet of paper, with at least one sentence each, answer the following questions:

  • Why do you write? Who do you write for?
  • What do you write about?
  • What does writing do for you? What do you want writing to do for other people?
  • What do you find limiting about writing?
  • What does not show up in your poems or in “traditional poetry” that you wish did?
  • Where have you been? Where are you going?
  • What’s a story people should know about you?
  • What do you want?
  • What did you used to think? What do you think now?
  • What or who do you love? What or who do you detest?


Read Krista Franklin’s “Manifesto, or Ars Poetica #2.” What makes this an Ars Poetica? Why did Franklin write this? What does it say about why Franklin writes or what she wants her writing to do? What does this say about what writing can do in general?

Read José Olivarez’s "Ars Poetica." What makes this an Ars Poetica? Why did Olivarez write this? What does this say about what writing does or can do? Does this tell a story? If so, what story does it tell?

Read Rita Dove’s "Ars Poetica." What is this ars poetica about? Does it tell a story? What is Dove saying about what art can or should do, or what it means to be a writer?

Using the ideas you brainstormed, write your own Ars Poetica.