Pliny the Poet
By Debra Hershkowitz
Abstract: In letter 4.14, Pliny the Younger remarks that he doesn’t worry too much about criticism of his poetry since he’s not planning to give up the day job…This well sums up Pliny’s basic outlook on his poetic composition, as a hobby rather than a full-fledged occupation. His comments on his poetry throughout his letters demonstrate that the writing of poems as a literary activity is, for Pliny, secondary to the ‘real’ work of oratory. Nevertheless, Pliny still managed to compose two, or possibly three, books of poetry.
Article in Greece & Rome, Vol. 42, No. 2, p168-181. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.