Enmerson's interest is in the workshop phase, the birthing stage of art, not the museum moment, the embalming phase. Poetry mimics Creation and is therefore sacred. More precisely, just as God may indeed be a verb {as Mary Daly insists}, poetry is the act of . The process of poetry also mimics the process of nature. 'This expression or naming is not art, but a second nature, grown out of the first, as a leaf out of a tree. What we call nature is a certain self-regulated motion or change.' Another aspect of nature is genius, which, as Emerson observes, 'is the activity which repairs the decays of things.
Emerson emphasizes the importance of the creative process in art, highlighting that the development phase, rather than the final presentation, is where true artistry lies. He believes that poetry, akin to the act of creation itself, holds a sacred quality. This process mirrors nature's evolution, suggesting that art springs from a deeper, intrinsic source, much like leaves grow from trees.
Furthermore, Emerson connects the idea of genius to the natural world, proposing that genius acts as a restorative force in life. It is through this process of growth and regeneration that art, as an extension of nature, can be appreciated not just as a product but as a vital, living expression that evolves over time.
