The Poetics of Reticence!

These posts try to offer refreshing and sometimes unconventional ideas about poetry. Every week, you’ll receive a post that explores silences in poetry — moments of restraint: this might mean holding back language, sentiment, meaning or message. Sometimes the posts are less explicitly about reticence; however, since all poems are reticent to varying degrees, and I will talk about poetry in each post, you’ll always have a chance to bathe in the waters of reticence.

Sometimes I simply post poems and comment briefly on them and other times I post an essay discussing an aspect of the poetics of reticence. Characters, genres and texts that make appearances in these posts: contemporary American poetry, loss and grief, Emily Dickinson, Emmanuel Levinas, Lucille Clifton, tensions between English and American literature, and classic Jewish texts.

Paid subscribers have full access to my newsletter and publication archives. They also have the opportunity to join one hour online poetry sessions with me, and every few months I ask paid subscribers to send me a poem — and I’ll offer my thoughts on it. Free subscribers can join the sessions and receive feedback on poems for a fee. Don’t hesitate to email me with any questions.

Thank you for being here with me.

With my best reticent wishes, Eve

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