#042 - Why Every Poet Should Study Philosophy

Can studying philosophy make you a better poet?

In this episode of The Poetry Vessel, host Nathan Hassall sits down with philosopher-poet DeForeest Wright to explore the profound historical and structural relationship between poetry and philosophy.

Drawing from the dark academic realms of H.P. Lovecraft and J.R.R. Tolkien, alongside the logical frameworks of Plato, Kant, and Wittgenstein, Deforest breaks down his original framework of Progressive Romanticism—a dialectical synthesis of modernism and postmodernism. The conversation dives into the mechanics of writing metered sonnets, the importance of structural logic in verse, and a deep look at how the incantatory use of language functions as a form of psychological and aesthetic magic. Deforest also shares live readings from his chatbook manuscript, "Lotuses from Leng," demonstrating how traditional forms like the English and Spenserian sonnet can be subverted to craft compelling, modern horror narratives.

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📌 CHAPTERS:

00:00 — Why Great Poets Must Be Profound Philosophers

01:12 - What Ancient Greece Can Teach Us About the Meaning of Poetry

03:25 - What is the Classical Philosophical Defense of Poetry?06:49 - What is Progressive Romanticism in Art and Literature?12:51 — Behind DeForeest's Book: Lotuses from Leng

16:32 — The Anatomy of a Sonnet: Quatrains, Couplets, and the Volta

21:10 — Poem Reading: "The Thinning Veil"

23:27 — Kantian Aesthetics: Phenomena, Numina, and the Sublime

26:03 — Secondary Worlds and Tolkien's Concept of Fantasy

33:55 - How Reading Historical Philosophy Improves Your Originality

42:00 - How to Apply Pathos, Ethos, and Logos to Creative Writing

48:08 — Poem Reading: "Pre-Established Harmony" (Leibniz & Azathoth)

59:25 — The Sublime vs. The Beautiful

1:04:00 - Why Meter and Rhythm Matter in Contemporary Poetry

1:19:04 — The Gothic Backstory: Byron, Polidori, and the Year Without a Summer

1:27:36 — Rhetoric as Enchantment: How Words Act on the Psyche

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