The philosopher Ayn Rand(1905-1982) had a conception of art that has some parallels to my view of poetry. Both of us see artistic expression, and hence poetry, as the concretization of the widest metaphysical abstractions and of our own particular philosophy; as broad brush strokes that assist in developing an integrated world view; as an exercise in contemplation; as an art form which depends not on the extent of our knowledge but on the means by which we acquire it; as a form whose value lies primarily in the process of cognitive integration it affords, as the mechanism, the means, for providing an integrated view of existence; as an art form whose sense of life is the product of philosophic conclusions; as an art which offers "life-giving fact" and "moments of metaphysical joy and of love for existence," which confirms our view of existence;" as something which satisfies the needs of our cognitive faculty; as an indispensable medium for the communication of a moral ideal; as an activity in which one can learn a great deal about life; as something that induces a sense of life through the work itself; as an act whose roots lie in the nature and requirements of our mind and in an objectification of our view of man and of existence. -Ron Price with thanks to Michelle Marder Kambi and Louis Torres, "Critical Neglect of Ayn Rand's Theory of Art," The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, Vol.2 No.1, Fall 2000, pp.1-46.



Seeking a quiet place

and, then, a quieter place

for this profoundly satisfying

bit of philosophy made concrete,

point of sanity in an anarchic world.

With my broad and fine brush strokes

trying to bring it all together

in what you might call

cognitive integration,

with a sense of finding

life-giving-fact,

moments of metaphysical joy,

of love for existence,

satisfying my cultural sensibilities

and the requirements of my mind

defining that integrated world view

that I became associated with

insensibly in those years

when Lenny Bruce was writing

about how to talk dirty and influence people.1

and the average American family

was consuming about 1000 cans

of food each year and new teflon pans.2

1 Bruce, a popular commedian of the time, published a book by this name in 1962.

2 Teflon pans went on sale in December 1960.



Ron Price

25 October 2001