Opposite: Poems, Philosophy and Coffee

by Helen Mort, Aaron Meskin

What happens when poetry and philosophy converge? Over coffee at Leeds’ Opposite Cafe, award-winning poet Helen Mort and Professor of Philosophical Aesthetics Aaron Meskin set out to explore that very question.

Their caffeine-fuelled discussions morphed into the intriguing concept behind this book: a cross-disciplinary creative dialogue in which the poet lets her imagination loose on philosophical texts and the authors of the papers respond.

Like all the best coffee shop conversations, the results take unexpected turns through the art of tattooing, graffiti, Belle & Sebastian, food, rock climbing and whether there’s such a thing as bad art. So pull up a chair, and join Helen, Aaron and ten of the world’s leading philosophers of art for coffee, poetry and everything in between.

Genres: Poetry, Philosophy

60 pages, Paperback

Published May 10, 2019

About the author

Helen Mort is a poet and author from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Her collection Division Street was shortlisted for the Costa Prize and the T.S. Eliot Prize and won the Fenton Aldeburgh Prize in 2014. She was described by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy as "among the brightest stars in the sparkling new constellation of young British poets". She is a Cultural Fellow at the University of Leeds, and one of the judges for the 2017 Man Booker International Prize.
Adapted from: http://www.poetaflamenco.com/

Reviews

[Simone Ivatts · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! One of my favourite poets responds to philosophical essays in the forms of poems and the writers of those essays then respond to the poems. We don't get to read the original essays, but I actually think there's a charm in that, as some of us - me included - may feel bamboozled by the minutiae of academic essays on philosophical aesthetics, but we can feel and react to the poems and we can appreciate what the philosophers say about how they relate to their work. I also love that this project grew out of conversations in two of the best coffee shops in my home town of Leeds - Opposite and Laynes Espresso. I think it's wonderful that Helen Mort and Aaron Meskin have decided to donate an amount from the sale of each book to Leeds Community Foundation's Healthy Holidays campaign, which enables kids who may go hungry in the school holidays - when there are no free school meals to be had - to have access to food and fun activities throughout the holiday periods. Poetry, philosophy and philanthropy in one delightful volume!

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

British poet Helen Mort set out to write something about poetry that many do not see or haven't seen since the times of the ancient Greeks -- the connection between poetry and philosophy. Poetry explains and examines with rhythm, rhyme, emotion, and imagery. Philosophy speaks in complex thoughts and in a language that one needs to learn much like a mathematician or a physicist. In ancient times, philosophy, theatre, and poetry shared a common root in a pantheon of gods. Today, philosophy, using the same theme, can be compared to a seminary lecture and poetry to a cathedral's ornate stained glass windows. They both tell the same story but in a different manner.

Mort and editor Aaron Meskin exchanged philosophy papers for poetry. Mort would read an article by or from Meskin and then would try and capture its meaning in a poem. It was not always easy, and I imagine, at times unsuccessful. In this edition, Mort writes a poem and has a philosopher interpret and define it in a philosophical manner. Luckily for the reader, the philosophers keep it light enough and readable for the layman to understand. The subjects vary from motherhood to tattoos and everything between. Mort even approaches the subject of rape with the song "Chalet Lines" and how the word was made glassy and elegant and rolled smoothly like a marble. A.W. Eaton of the University of Chicago follows up Mort's poem with art history and that a large number of paintings portraying sexual violence that are made glossy and elegant in their own way.

For lovers of poetry and philosophy, Opposite is an enjoyable read that shows there is still connectivity between the two disciplines. Mort earned her Ph.D. from Sheffield University and is the author of a novel, two poetry collections, and the editor and contributor to several poetry and literature projects. Meskin is the Professor of Philosophical Aesthetics at the University of Leeds. Biographies of the other contributors are included in the book. Coffee, well, coffee is the lubricant that keeps poets and philosophers talking, thinking, and writing.

[Edward Ferrari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the exchange between the poem "The Angler" and the response "The Rock is the Dance Teacher," by Thi Nguyen to be the most compelling, and am really grateful to have learned of Nguyen's work. As a whole the book wasn't what I expected, I had thought it was going to be a book of transcribed conversations rather than the call and response format it's in (the poet writes a poem in response to a philosopher's article and then the philosopher responds to that).

[Elizabeth Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the poems here and the responses to them, but would have loved to have seen the material which inspired them too as the responses felt very brief. However, I did like that each one could be read in the space of time it takes to have a coffee.

[Kate Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Helen Mort is an interesting poet and her approach, along with that of the philosophers was playful. It was a real pleasure to read with a cup of tea (I don't drink coffee)

[Alexander Asay · Rating 3 out of 5]

UGA: Aesthetics