On the Trail of the Poetic Genius

Continuing on the Whitman Trail, as it merges at points onto the Rimbaud trail, there's something about the poet that transcends his or her time while simultaneously being a product of that time and place. The reason we're following the trail of the poetic genius is to gain insight into the course of human evolution and determine where we need to go as a society. Writing in his study of Rimbaud, Henry Miller states as follows:

“The future always has and always will belong to – the poet.”

It serves our purposes to heed not only the poets of the past but our contemporary poets as well. On this blog, I'll be paying particular attention to the poets that shaped the foundations of modern poetry because we'll be addressing the rotten foundations that hold up the modern era. As we recognize ourselves as trailblazers and strive to discover a backdoor approach into the Promised Land, as we confront the various obstacles that may initially appear insurmountable, we can take heart on the nature of genius to find a way though no way may appear before our own eyes. The nature of genius can be a humbling experience. Describing the difference between talent and genius, the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer states as follows:

“Talent hits a target that no one else can hit. But genius can hit the target that no one else can see.”