ABSTRACT
The excitement of writing poetry is comparable to that of no other form of literary creation. Much sentimental rubbish has been talked about inspiration, but that does not make the phenomena of inspiration any the less impressive in itself. When a good poem is being written, something is happening beyond the ordaining of the poet's common faculties. Words and images are evoked from deeps that he has never consciously explored, idea is fused with idea by an alchemy over which he has no deliberate control, and unthought-of associations announce themselves in a serene and inevitable lucidity. Poetry takes no stock of fashions, has no vocation to be up to date. For many people, that is poetry's disqualification. They think that poetry is therefore indifferent to the problems and movements of reality. To others it is poetry's supreme vindication.
