Poetry Quotes | Beyond Motive 2/13

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Poetry Quotes

"Her touch is like doing simple mathWhen she sleeps in the bed, subtracting clothesThere is a red ink, like a sparkling red wine, adding colorsDividing body, remembering gods, without multiplying."

"Her touch is like doing simple mathWhen she sleeps in the bed, subtracting clothesThere is a red ink, like a sparkling red wine, adding colorsDividing body, remembering gods, without multiplying."

Santosh Kalwar, Nepalese Poet

Poetry, Metaphor, Body, Memory, Spirit

6

"She was the Judy Garland of American poetry."

"She was the Judy Garland of American poetry."

James Dickey, American Novelist

6

"When I was asked to be Writer in Residence at Edinburgh I thought, you can't teach poetry. This is ridiculous."

"When I was asked to be Writer in Residence at Edinburgh I thought, you can't teach poetry. This is ridiculous."

Norman MacCaig, Scottish Poet

Poetry, Thought, Writer

6

"I have had much to learn from Sweden's poetry and, more especially, from her lyrics of the last generation."

"I have had much to learn from Sweden's poetry and, more especially, from her lyrics of the last generation."

Knut Hamsun, Norwegian Author

6

"On the other hand, if there's an underlying core of poetry that I go to, I go to the sea. I've lived on the sea all my life. I live on the sea in Cape Breton."

"On the other hand, if there's an underlying core of poetry that I go to, I go to the sea. I've lived on the sea all my life. I live on the sea in Cape Breton."

Richard Serra, American Sculptor

Poetry, Life, Sea

6

"The quietest poetry can be an explosion of joy."

"The quietest poetry can be an explosion of joy."

James Broughton, American Director

6

"I learned to impersonate the kind of person that talks about poetry. It comes from teaching, I think."

"I learned to impersonate the kind of person that talks about poetry. It comes from teaching, I think."

Robert Morgan, American Soldier

Poetry, Teaching

6

"Lapped in poetry, wrapped in the picturesque, armed with logical sentences and inalienable words."

"Lapped in poetry, wrapped in the picturesque, armed with logical sentences and inalienable words."

Anatole Broyard, American Critic

6

"The Tao Te Ching is partly in prose, partly in verse; but as we define poetry now, not by rhyme and meter but as a patterned intensity of language, the whole thing is poetry. I wanted to catch that poetry, its terse, strange beauty. Most translations have caught meanings in their net, but prosily, letting the beauty slip through. And in poetry, beauty is no ornament; it is the meaning. It is the truth. We have that on good authority."

"The Tao Te Ching is partly in prose, partly in verse; but as we define poetry now, not by rhyme and meter but as a patterned intensity of language, the whole thing is poetry. I wanted to catch that poetry, its terse, strange beauty. Most translations have caught meanings in their net, but prosily, letting the beauty slip through. And in poetry, beauty is no ornament; it is the meaning. It is the truth. We have that on good authority."

Ursula K. Le Guin, American Writer

Poetry, Beauty, Meaning, Language

6

"I've been told by many the art of poetry's dead, I believe it's alive on pages they haven't read."

"I've been told by many the art of poetry's dead, I believe it's alive on pages they haven't read."

Stanley Victor Paskavich, American Politician

Poetry, Art, Truth, Creativity

6

"PC stuff just lowers the general acceptance of good work and replaces it with bogus poetry that celebrates values that in themselves are probably quite worthy."

"PC stuff just lowers the general acceptance of good work and replaces it with bogus poetry that celebrates values that in themselves are probably quite worthy."

Diane Wakoski, American Poet

Poetry, Work, Values, Acceptance

5

"Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it so that the other half may reach you."

"Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it so that the other half may reach you."

Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese Philosopher

Poetry, Communication, Truth, Listening, Expression

5

"I guess I wanted to leave America for awhile. It wasn't that I wanted to become an expatriate, or just never come back, I needed some breathing room. I'd already been translating French poetry, I'd been to Paris once before and liked it very much, and so I just went."

"I guess I wanted to leave America for awhile. It wasn't that I wanted to become an expatriate, or just never come back, I needed some breathing room. I'd already been translating French poetry, I'd been to Paris once before and liked it very much, and so I just went."

Paul Auster, American Author

Poetry, America, Paris

5

"A public expectation, it has to be said, not of poetry as such but of political positions variously approvable by mutually disapproving groups."

"A public expectation, it has to be said, not of poetry as such but of political positions variously approvable by mutually disapproving groups."

Seamus Heaney, Irish Poet

Poetry, Expectation, Public

5

"Writing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo."

"Writing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo."

Don Marquis, American Poet

Poetry, Echo, Waiting, Writing

5

"When I was in college, I used to write little ditties and short stories and poetry for my friends. Writing a book is another thing. It is so much different from my traditional day of dirty fingernails and greasy hair and hot pans."

"When I was in college, I used to write little ditties and short stories and poetry for my friends. Writing a book is another thing. It is so much different from my traditional day of dirty fingernails and greasy hair and hot pans."

Mario Batali, American Celebrity

Poetry, College, Day, Friends

5

"Poetry is the work of poets, not of peoples or communities; artistic creation can never be anything but the production of an individual mind."

"Poetry is the work of poets, not of peoples or communities; artistic creation can never be anything but the production of an individual mind."

Lascelles Abercrombie, British Poet

Poetry, Work, Creation, Mind

5

"A very intimate sense of the expressiveness of outward things, which ponders, listens, penetrates, where the earlier, less developed consciousness passed lightly by, is an important element in the general temper of our modern poetry."

"A very intimate sense of the expressiveness of outward things, which ponders, listens, penetrates, where the earlier, less developed consciousness passed lightly by, is an important element in the general temper of our modern poetry."

Walter Pater, English Critic

Poetry, Consciousness, Sense, Temper

5

"Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason."

"Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason."

Novalis, German Poet

Poetry, Reason, Wounds

5

"Poetry is an art, and chief of the fine art; the easiest to dabble in, the hardest in which to reach true excellence."

"Poetry is an art, and chief of the fine art; the easiest to dabble in, the hardest in which to reach true excellence."

Edmund C. Stedman, American Poet

Poetry, Art, Excellence

5

"I always liked the magic of poetry but now I'm just starting to see behind the curtain of even the best poets, how they've used, tried and tested craft to create the illusion. Wonderful feeling of exhilaration to finally be there."

"I always liked the magic of poetry but now I'm just starting to see behind the curtain of even the best poets, how they've used, tried and tested craft to create the illusion. Wonderful feeling of exhilaration to finally be there."

David Knopfler, British Musician

Poetry, Feeling, Illusion, Magic

5

"All those authors there, most of whom of course I've never met. That's the poetry side, that's the prose side, that's the fishing and miscellaneous behind me. You get an affection for books that you've enjoyed."

"All those authors there, most of whom of course I've never met. That's the poetry side, that's the prose side, that's the fishing and miscellaneous behind me. You get an affection for books that you've enjoyed."

Norman MacCaig, Scottish Poet

Poetry, Affection, Books, Fishing

5

"Poetry is what Milton saw when he went blind."

"Poetry is what Milton saw when he went blind."

Don Marquis, American Poet

5

"Poetry is a succession of questions which the poet constantly poses."

"Poetry is a succession of questions which the poet constantly poses."

Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish Poet

Poetry, Questions

5

"There is also poetry written to be shouted in a square in front of an enthusiastic crowd. This occurs especially in countries where authoritarian regimes are in power."

"There is also poetry written to be shouted in a square in front of an enthusiastic crowd. This occurs especially in countries where authoritarian regimes are in power."

Eugenio Montale, Italian Poet

Poetry, Power, Countries

5

"Breathe-in experience, breathe-out poetry."

"Breathe-in experience, breathe-out poetry."

Muriel Rukeyser, American Poet

Poetry, Experience

5

"Rap is rhythm and poetry. Hip-hop is storytelling and poetry as well."

"Rap is rhythm and poetry. Hip-hop is storytelling and poetry as well."

Ajay Naidu, American Actor

5

"I gave up on new poetry myself 30 years ago when most of it began to read like coded messages passing between lonely aliens in a hostile world."

"I gave up on new poetry myself 30 years ago when most of it began to read like coded messages passing between lonely aliens in a hostile world."

Russell Baker, American Journalist

Poetry, Lonely, World, Years

5

"I come here to speak poetry. It will always be in the grass. It will also be necessary to bend down to hear it. It will always be too simple to be discussed in assemblies."

"I come here to speak poetry. It will always be in the grass. It will also be necessary to bend down to hear it. It will always be too simple to be discussed in assemblies."

Boris Pasternak, Russian Novelist

5

"Why should poetry have to make sense?"

"Why should poetry have to make sense?"

Charlie Chaplin, English Actor

5

"Clarity, clarity, surely clarity is the most beautiful thing in the world, A limited, limiting clarity I have not and never did have any motive of poetry But to achieve clarity."

"Clarity, clarity, surely clarity is the most beautiful thing in the world, A limited, limiting clarity I have not and never did have any motive of poetry But to achieve clarity."

George Oppen, American Poet

Poetry, Clarity, Motive, World

5

"If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry."

"If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry."

Emily Dickinson, American Poet

5

"And if they haven't got poetry in them, there's nothing you can do that will produce it."

"And if they haven't got poetry in them, there's nothing you can do that will produce it."

Norman MacCaig, Scottish Poet

Poetry, Nothing, Will

5

"A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom."

"A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom."

Robert Frost, American Poet

Poetry, Wisdom, Delight

5

"If my poetry aims to achieve anything, it's to deliver people from the limited ways in which they see and feel."

"If my poetry aims to achieve anything, it's to deliver people from the limited ways in which they see and feel."

Jim Morrison, American Musician

5

"Literature is a state of culture, poetry is a state of grace, before and after culture."

"Literature is a state of culture, poetry is a state of grace, before and after culture."

Juan Ramon Jimenez, Spanish Poet

Poetry, Culture, Grace, Literature

5

"The poetry of a people comes from the deep recesses of the unconscious, the irrational and the collective body of our ancestral memories."

"The poetry of a people comes from the deep recesses of the unconscious, the irrational and the collective body of our ancestral memories."

Margaret Walker, American Poet

Poetry, People, Body, Deep

5

"The poet exposes himself to the risk. All that has been said about poetry, all that he has learned about poetry, is only a partial assurance."

"The poet exposes himself to the risk. All that has been said about poetry, all that he has learned about poetry, is only a partial assurance."

A. R. Ammons, American Poet

5

"Well, the great thing for me about poetry is that in good poems the dislocation of words, that is to say, the distance between what they say they're saying and what they are actually saying is at its greatest."

"Well, the great thing for me about poetry is that in good poems the dislocation of words, that is to say, the distance between what they say they're saying and what they are actually saying is at its greatest."

Harry Mathews, American Author

Poetry, Poems, Saying, Words

5

"I am two fools, I know, for loving, and for saying so in whining poetry."

"I am two fools, I know, for loving, and for saying so in whining poetry."

John Donne, British Poet

Poetry, Fools, Saying

5

"Yet, it is true, poetry is delicious; the best prose is that which is most full of poetry."

"Yet, it is true, poetry is delicious; the best prose is that which is most full of poetry."

Virginia Woolf, British Author

5

"Poetry, I feel, is a tyrannical discipline. You've got to go so far so fast in such a small space; you've got to burn away all the peripherals."

"Poetry, I feel, is a tyrannical discipline. You've got to go so far so fast in such a small space; you've got to burn away all the peripherals."

Sylvia Plath, American Poet

Poetry, Discipline, Creativity, Expression

5

"I've written you sixty-seven love poems.Here's another one for you.But really, for me.These poems are the candles that I light with the fire you have ignited in me.I place this candle here and another thereso even if the stars have argued with the moonand are sulking away in a corner, you can still find your way to me.Sixty-eight poems now. What does the future hold for us?Joy? Disappointment? Gentle caresses? And subtle neglect?I hope the good is more than the bad. Much more. For what is the point of loveif by lighting these candlesour own flame loses its brightness?I know the good is more than the bad. Much more.I cannot wait to write you sixty-nine."

"I've written you sixty-seven love poems.Here's another one for you.But really, for me.These poems are the candles that I light with the fire you have ignited in me.I place this candle here and another thereso even if the stars have argued with the moonand are sulking away in a corner, you can still find your way to me.Sixty-eight poems now. What does the future hold for us?Joy? Disappointment? Gentle caresses? And subtle neglect?I hope the good is more than the bad. Much more. For what is the point of loveif by lighting these candlesour own flame loses its brightness?I know the good is more than the bad. Much more.I cannot wait to write you sixty-nine."

Kamand Kojouri, Iranian Poet

Poetry, Love, Hope, Future

5

"I want to write a book of poetry, as well as children's stories."

"I want to write a book of poetry, as well as children's stories."

Bobby McFerrin, American Musician

Poetry, Children, Want

4

"Poetry must be made by all and not by one."

"Poetry must be made by all and not by one."

Comte de Lautreamont, French Poet

4

"Frankly, writing poetry for children is plain old fun, and I consider myself blessed to have such a delightful career."

"Frankly, writing poetry for children is plain old fun, and I consider myself blessed to have such a delightful career."

Jack Prelutsky, American Poet

Poetry, Career, Children, Fun

4

"In rap music, even though the element of poetry is very strong, so is the element of the drum, the implication of the dance. Without the beat, its commercial value would certainly be more tenuous."

"In rap music, even though the element of poetry is very strong, so is the element of the drum, the implication of the dance. Without the beat, its commercial value would certainly be more tenuous."

Archie Shepp, American Musician

Poetry, Music, Dance, Rap

4

"So it is in poetry. All we ask is that the mood recorded shall impress us as having been of the kind that exhausts the imaginative capacity; if it fails to do this the failure will announce itself either in prose or in insignificant verse."

"So it is in poetry. All we ask is that the mood recorded shall impress us as having been of the kind that exhausts the imaginative capacity; if it fails to do this the failure will announce itself either in prose or in insignificant verse."

John Drinkwater, English Poet

Poetry, Failure, Prose, Will

4

"I think it comes from really liking literary forms. Poetry is very beautiful, but the space on the page can be as affecting as where the text is. Like when Miles Davis doesn't play, it has a poignancy to it."

"I think it comes from really liking literary forms. Poetry is very beautiful, but the space on the page can be as affecting as where the text is. Like when Miles Davis doesn't play, it has a poignancy to it."

Jim Jarmusch, American Director

Poetry, Literary, Play, Space

4

"Probably all the attention to poetry results in some value, though the attention is more often directed to lesser than to greater values."

"Probably all the attention to poetry results in some value, though the attention is more often directed to lesser than to greater values."

A. R. Ammons, American Poet

Poetry, Values, Attention, Results

4

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