Nirodbaran

Correspondence with Sri Aurobindo

Second Series

2. Art and Literature

Modes and Varieties of Poetic Creation

X's poetry is more mental. N's comes straight from the vital vision and knocks you in the pit of the stomach.

He does not repeat his images so much as X and they are exceedingly striking and forceful. They are of one type, but that I suppose is the case with most poets.

Can't say I understand. N himself had done nothing worth doing in poetry when he came here – all the signs were that he would be at the best only a Tagorian poetling like so many others. He got a touch here which brought out in him some powerful force of vital vision and word that certainly had not shown any signs of existing before. It may have been there latent, but so was the poet in X. What then exactly is meant by a combination of born poet and genius? A born poet is usually a genius, poetry with any power or beauty in it implies genius.

Richness of image is not the whole of poetry. There are many born poets who avoid too much richness of image. There are certain fields of consciousness which express themselves naturally through image most – there are others that do it more through idea and feeling.

13.02.1936