Poetry has always given rise to interpretation, judgment, and controversy. Indeed, the history of poetry criticism is as rich and varied a journey as the history of poetry itself. But classic writings such as Emerson’s essay ‘The Poet’ and Whiteman’s preface to Leaves of Grass serve as more than a critical ‘call and response’: the works are striking examples of how the finest poets themselves have written on poetics and the works of their peers and ...
