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"Most victims of my autobiographical verse are either far too polite, remarkably understanding unaware that I have written poems about them."
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"I was very committed to the process of composing, working at poems, putting things together and taking them apart like some kind of experimental filmmaker."
"Why does one always ask a writer why they stopped? I am sure everyone finds in any drawer a few dear poems."
"As a friendly one. I would still like to write concrete poems, but I can only do it sometimes."
"I like poems you can tack all over with a hammer and there are no hollow places."
"By reason of weird translation, many such sets of instructions read like poems anyhow."
Explore more quotes by John Barton
"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."
"Poets can't resist the dramatic pull of their lives and so inevitably write autobiographical verse."
"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."
"An experienced reader uses the poem as an agent of inquiry. This makes poetry very exciting, unstable, and interactive."
"I became intrigued with colour theory. The absurd pronouncements of the Colour Institute, a group that decides what colours are hot each year or season, amused me."
"A literary journal is intended to connect writer with reader; the role of the editor is to mediate."
"The poet must decide not to impose his feelings in order to write without sentimentality."
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