The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica

“Ars Poetica” by Archibald MacLeish (1952)

Among the most famous ars poetica poems is that of Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982). An American modernist, MacLeish’s poem glorifies the art of poetry as its own transporting experience. This boundary-pushing work was published in his 1926 collection Streets in the Moon.

“Ars Poetica with Bacon” by Terrance Hayes (2016)

Contemporary American poet Terrance Hayes’s take on the ars poetica tradition centers on a family in crisis. The poem explores the deep hurt and intimacy between family members and how these formative experiences can generate poetry.

“Heroics” by Julia Alvarez (1982)

Dominican American writer Julia Alvarez is one of Cofer’s few contemporaries as a Latina who broke into the mainstream literary world. Resonant with Cofer’s work, “Heroics” describes women navigating their native cultures and new American customs. Alvarez illustrates this tension by contrasting the young women who read poetry and Vogue with their skeptical mothers back home.

“Small Shame Blues” by Dan Vera (2013)

Contemporary Cuban American poet Dan Vera explores the second-generation immigrant experience in “Small Shame Blues.” The speaker laments his ignorance of certain Spanish words when translating his poetry for his father.