Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry

The classic work on the sublime interplay between the arts and poetics

This book explores the rich and complex relationship between art and poetry, shedding invaluable light on what makes each art form unique yet wholly interdependent. Jacques Maritain insists on the part played by the intellect as well as the imagination, showing how poetry has its source in the preconceptual activity of the rational mind. As Maritain argues, intellect is not merely logical and conceptual reason. Rather, it carries on an exceedingly more profound and obscure life, one that is revealed to us as we seek to penetrate the hidden recesses of poetic and artistic activity. Incisive and authoritative, this illuminating book is the product of a lifelong reflection on the meaning of artistic expression in all its varied forms.

“Wisdom never makes the headlines, and I fear it will take a long time before the full stature of this book is recognized. The reader must take it slowly, learning to follow the lead of the author’s patient, deep, and gentle spirit, which speaks on every page; then he will be rewarded with the most sane and subtle insights into the life of poetry which our time affords.”—Francis Fergusson