Eratosphere is a free-to-join workshop for formal poetry. Additionally, it is a forum for free verse, for poetry and prose translation, fiction, art, literary criticism, and critical discussions on writing. It was founded in 1999 by Alexander Pepple as a workshop complement to

Able Muse ''Able Muse'' is a literary magazine established in 1999 by editor-in-chief Alexander Pepple in San Jose, California. It started as an online publication, publishing poems, short stories, essays, book reviews, art, and photography from authors wo ...

. Eratosphere moderators have included some of the best known formal poets, with the Poet Laureate of Wisconsin Marilyn Taylor,

A. M. Juster Michael James Astrue (born October 1, 1956) is an American lawyer and, under the pen name A. M. Juster, a poet and critic. He served as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 2007 to 2013. Astrue was Poetry Editor of ''First Thi ...

A. E. Stallings Alicia Elsbeth Stallings (born July 2, 1968) is an American New Formalist and Philhellene poet and translator. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she was named a 2011 MacArthur Fellow (the "Genius Grant"). Background Stalling ...

, and

R. S. Gwynn Robert Samuel "Sam" Gwynn (born 1948, Eden, North Carolina) is an American poet and anthologist associated with New Formalism. Life Gwynn is married and lives in Beaumont, Texas. He graduated from Davidson College in 1969, where he won the Ver ...

among them. The Distinguished Guest forum continues to host presentations and discussions with renowned writers and poets, such as former US Poet Laureate

Richard Wilbur Richard Purdy Wilbur (March 1, 1921 – October 14, 2017) was an American poet and literary translator. One of the foremost poets of his generation, Wilbur's work, composed primarily in traditional forms, was marked by its wit, charm, and gentle ...

, the late

Anthony Hecht Anthony Evan Hecht (January 16, 1923 – October 20, 2004) was an American poet. His work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history, with the Second World War, in which he fought, an ...

Timothy Steele Timothy Steele (born January 22, 1948) is an American poet, who generally writes in meter and rhyme. His early poems, which began appearing in the 1970s in such magazines as ''Poetry, The Southern Review'', and X. J. Kennedy's ''Counter/Measures' ...

, Charles Martin, and

X. J. Kennedy X. J. Kennedy (born Joseph Charles Kennedy on August 21, 1929, in Dover, New Jersey) is an American poet, translator, anthologist, editor, and author of children's literature and textbooks on English literature and poetry. He was long known as ...

. These discussions are permanently archived and accessible online. As such, it has been cited by academics and others as a reference (e.g., professor Susan Santovasi of Yale University on

political poetry Political poetry brings together politics and poetry. According to "The Politics of Poetry"by David Orr (journalist), David Orr, poetry and politics connect through expression and feeling, although both of them are matters of persuasion. Political ...

), whether to gauge poetic trends and beliefs or otherwise; it has been included in the listing of writing resources of several universities.

References

External links

Eratosphere websiteEratosphere ForumsAble Muse website
Poetry movements American literature websites Writing Writing circles Formalism (aesthetics) 21st-century literature {{poetry-org-stub