The relationship between the creative act of poetry and the scientific field of linguistics is one that has fascinated me for a while but which, for many a reason, isn't one that most linguists focus on. However, I had a long conversation with my syntax professor today about that very subject.

I commented that many of the formulations of phonology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics used by linguists to describe natural language seem to go off the rails where poetry is concerned....