Poetry and Prose

Yesterday evening I attended a lecture called, “What is the Difference Between Poetry and Prose?” by Professor Christopher Ricks with a friend from class who studied at BU for undergrad as well. He told me that Professor Ricks was one of his favorites and that they still get together on occassion. After filling our bellies at Espresso Royale, off we went to the talk.

I liked Professor Ricks immediately. He greeted my friend and I warmly, shaking our hands and expressing his happiness in seeing us there. We had arrived about ten minutes early. Soon after, there were no more empty seats. People squeezed in behind the back row, creating a “standing room only” section.

His talk was engaging, both in delivery and subject. His main point was that the difference between poetry and prose is very subtle, if it truly exists at all. He honed in on a difference in grammar and line break meaning as a possible difference. His cadence (and British accent) was extremely pleasant to listen to. He read excerpts from poems and prose like an actor, and was no less composed when responding to questions on the fly.

He also touched on the aesthetic value of poetry – the fact that line breaks can be used to create a visual symbol as well as play with the meaning of the line. This was especially interesting to me, as I studied the aesthetic use of letters to create visuals at Kenyon, culminating in three pieces on the topic for my senior art show.