No Metaphor: Diane di Prima’s Poems as Magickal Workings

Diane di Prima’s artistic practice, especially her political poetry, has often been separated from her alternative spirituality. However, di Prima viewed her creative work as inseparable from her lifelong involvement in the magical arts. Her poetry evolved alongside her understanding of alchemy, the Tarot, and channeling. In this presentation, I will use archival research to explore her poetry as a magickal working. I argue that di Prima’s poetry is as much spiritual and occult as political or artistic. These poems should be understood as a magical form of poesis and an act of world-making.