What Is Poetry?

Poetry. Having an aversion to the idea of discussing the craft of poetry or the process of creating a poem, Lawrence Ferlinghetti usually mumbles something about It's a trade secret when pressed on the subject. But WHAT IS POETRY? is the closest he has come to formulating an ars poetica, an ongoing project which he is constantly revising and expanding. Lawrence Ferlinghetti was the first Poet Laureate of San Francisco.