Welcome to the Aesthetic Realism Online Library
The definitive source of publications about the philosophy founded by poet, critic, and educator Eli Siegel
Spotlight
Periodical
The Right of Aesthetic Realism to Be Known is the international periodical of the Aesthetic Realism Foundation, published since 1973. It explains what is happening in the world, and in people—in you. Please note: As of April 2025 The Right Of has become a monthly periodical. That is: a new issue will appear every month.
Essays
Essays by Eli Siegel—beautifully written and down to earth—include “The Ordinary Doom,” “Husbands and Poems,” and “Declaration about Old Age.” There are groundbreaking essays on art, including “Art as Drama” and “Art as, Yes, Humility.”
Poetry
Read many of Eli Siegel’s poems, including his Nation magazine prize-winning “Hot Afternoons Have Been in Montana.” There is also scholarly criticism of works by Byron, Robert Browning, Emily Dickinson, William Shakespeare, and more.
Definitions
Eli Siegel’s philosophic work, Definitions, and Comment: Being a Description of the World, includes definitions of Romance, Success, Aesthetics, History, and more. What he writes is exciting, powerfully logical, often humorous, and always enormously important for our lives.
Lectures
Eli Siegel lectured for nearly 40 years on a vast range of subjects including literature, ethics, history, everyday life, and art. Many lectures are online, including Map to Happiness, Aesthetic Realism and Music, and Poetry and Women.
Classes
The Aesthetic Realism Foundation offers many exciting classes via video conference, including classes in music, poetry, anthropology, the visual arts, film studies, marriage, and a workshop for educators, “The Aesthetic Realism Teaching Method.”
Books
How do we see ourselves, the world, other people? Read Eli Siegel’s Self and World; Hail, American Development (poems); Damned Welcome: Aesthetic Realism Maxims; and there’s more!
Reviews
Here you’ll find selected Scribner’s Magazine book reviews written by Eli Siegel from 1931 to 1934. There are also reviews of works by Mr. Siegel, including from The New York Times Book Review and the Smithsonian.
News Archive
Read articles about how Aesthetic Realism explains love, education, youth and age, and more. There are articles, too, about the founder of Aesthetic Realism.