Letters on Poetry and Art

CONTENTS

	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

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.