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"I would not say I chose to write long poems on a conscious level. The long poem has been a relative constant."
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"Everyone thinks they're going to write one book of poems or one novel."

"Why does one always ask a writer why they stopped? I am sure everyone finds in any drawer a few dear poems."

"Most victims of my autobiographical verse are either far too polite, remarkably understanding unaware that I have written poems about them."

"I tend to like poems that engage me - that is to say, which do not bore me."

"I have also written some poems which have not been collected in a volume."
Explore more quotes by John Barton

"I consider a poem to be a kind of experiment where a number of elements are brought together under test conditions to see how they will interact to create meaning or relevance."

"Some readers allow their prejudices to blind them. A good reader knows how to disregard inappropriate responses."

"I have been told by a member of the board of one of Canada's most prominent literary magazines that a submission of mine once caused a great deal of controversy."

"If poetry alters the way in which the reader views the world, then it has had its desired effect."

"The experiment of the poem is mostly intuitive. I write the first draft, pulling in the various elements that interest me, in the hope that their being combined will lead to some kind of insight."

"Most victims of my autobiographical verse are either far too polite, remarkably understanding unaware that I have written poems about them."

"Writing can sometimes be exploitative. I like to take a few steps of remove in order to respect the privacy of the subject. If readers make the link, they have engaged with the poem."

"The community of poets I belong to is not as close as it used to be, if only for the fact that our lives have become busier: jobs, children, and the like."

"A literary journal is intended to connect writer with reader; the role of the editor is to mediate."
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