Eli Siegel was a poet, critic, and educator. He founded Aesthetic Realism, a philosophical movement based in New York City. An idea central to Aesthetic Realism—that every person, place or thing in reality has something in common with all other things—was expressed in the title poem of his first volume, Hot Afternoons Have Been in Montana: Poems. His second volume was Hail, American Development.
Eli Siegel in 1947 (photo by Louis Dienes)
Eli Siegel Historical Marker, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, MD
Aesthetic Realism is a philosophy founded in 1941 by the American poet and critic Eli Siegel (1902–1978). He defined it as a three-part study: "[T]hese three divisions can be described as: One, Liking the world; Two, The opposites; Three, The meaning of contempt."
The Aesthetic Realism Foundation is located in SoHo (NYC)
Ellen Reiss, Chairman of Education
The Aesthetic Realism Theatre Company performing "Ethics is a Force!—Songs About Labor" (2006)
"The People of Clarendon County"—A Play by Ossie Davis, & the Answer to Racism, presented at the Congressional Auditorium, US Capitol Visitor Center on October 21, 2009 with Lee Central HS Chorus and the Thelma Slater Singers of Bishopville, South Carolina.
