A.O. Scott’s Poetry Lessons
April 16, 2025 at 12:10AMFor Slate, Jonathan Farmer interviews critic A.O. Scott about his popular column for the Books section of the New York Times, in which he analyzes a single poem each month. Scott talks about the interactive technology that allows people to deconstruct a poem with him as they scroll, the encouraging feedback he’s received from readers, and his fascinating approach to craft as a reviewer.
We’re paying attention to the sound of words, to rhymes, to line breaks, to meter if there’s meter, to the repetition of certain words, to the choice of words, even to punctuation—to all of the things that contribute to the sound and the visual presentation of the poem. But we’re also trying—and this has been the most important thing for me—we’re trying to make something. We’re trying to highlight the beauty of the poem, and the affective power of the poem, but we’re also trying to make something that is beautiful.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2025/04/15/a-o-scotts-poetry-lessons/
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