2/19/2004 03:59:00 PM|||Andrew|||I was thinking today about the various genres of writing that I work in, the primary two being betrayed by the title of this site, of course. To a large extent I've defined myself, I think of myself, in terms of this pairing. But I wondered, which is more important, which do I identify with more?

My answer, which came quickly enough, is found in the order I gave my title. Perhaps Poetical Philosophy would have made more sense, but indeed at core I am more the poet than the philosopher. Of course, to a certain extent the question is an unfair one, but then again, I think I am permitted to question myself critically if I please.

I guess to be honest, I'm not sure if I would ever write essays or polemics or anything prosaic if I had the choice. More often then not, I have the urge to write, something, anything, but I can find no inspiration, no poetic subject. I can force myself to move to this mode, of course, and occassionally will end up with something good, but usually not. I suppose I feel as if poetry were my primary mode of writing, prose my secondary and backup mode. Prose can be forced, written at any moment about any subject; poetry, at least the way I write poetry, expresses deep emotions pouring out of my soul.

Perhaps, of course, I am wrong. Perhaps the very fact that I can write prose at any time, while being subjugated to something so external as "inspiration" for poetry should inform me that prose is my natural form. It is not for me to say. What I know, I know. And I know that in my heart of hearts I am a poet first.|||107723514798413539|||