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In her second book of erasures, JM Farkas takes on Ovid's Ars Amatoria, or "The Art of Love." In her signature feminist, revisionist twist, Farkas speaks to emerging "girl" poets. How to Be a Poet is not only for writers, but for anyone who wants to create beauty in the world. In addition to the erasure, How to Be a Poet includes a second version of the poem in a style that leaves the original text visible for readers who want to read the scandalous source material.
About the author
J.M. Farkas is the author of Be Brave: An Unlikely Manual for Erasing Heartbreak—an erasure of Beowulf via blackout poetry. She has written for The New York Times, Buzzfeed, and Electric Literature, and her poetry appears in a wide variety of literary magazines.
Summary
The Roman poet Ovid's The Book of Love instructed women on the "art" of seduction and men in the "art" of romantic conquest. It is a "classic" sexist text on men, women, love, and sex.
In her second book of erasures, JM Farkas takes on Ovid's Ars Amoratis, or "The Book of Love." In her signature feminist, revisionist twist, Farkas speaks to emerging "girl" poets. How to Be a Poet is not only for writers, but for anyone who wants to create beauty in the world. In addition to the erasure, How to Be a Poet will include a "cross-out" style that leaves the original text visible. Illustrations throughout also enhance the text.
avenge your mother. invent
a girl with a reckless heart.
free her in her tower. be a thief,
snatch time, every time you write,
set fire to your arrows
of desire. be greedy, burn
like a jealous star. hide the key
by the strawberry trees behind
your heart. turn with the earth
and sing like a girl.
