The Poetry Project

Lecture

The End of the Line: Rhyme and the Poetics of Authority with Julian Talamantez Brolaski

© Ivanna Baranova

This talk explores the role end rhyme has to play in the construction of poetic authority. Rhyme sets up an epistemological paradox: forms and meanings seem to correlate, and thus to be true and trustworthy, but there are reasons to distrust what the poet says at line’s end. Rhyme is a potent locus in which the problem of believability is foregrounded. It also foregrounds, through its reliance on artifice, the presence of an author or authors. I’m interested in the relationship of these properties to rhyme position, which I discuss as a place where formal constraint can result in the display or concealment of poetic skill.

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This in-person event will also be livestreamed via The Poetry Project's YouTube. Livestream captions will be available via a StreamText link or the CC button on YouTube's player.

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