Quotes by Poet | Beyond Motive 31/304

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Quotes by Poet

"My sense of a poem - my notion of how you revise - is: you get yourself into a state where what you are intensely conscious of is not why you wrote it or how you wrote it, but what you wrote."

"My sense of a poem - my notion of how you revise - is: you get yourself into a state where what you are intensely conscious of is not why you wrote it or how you wrote it, but what you wrote."

Philip Levine, American Poet

18

"God will forgive me; that's his business."

"God will forgive me; that's his business."

Heinrich Heine, German Poet

Business, God, Will

18

"And we forget because we must and not because we will."

"And we forget because we must and not because we will."

Matthew Arnold, English Poet

Forgetting, Forget, Will

18

"Potter is jealous of potter, and craftsman of craftsman; and the poor have a grudge against the poor, and the poet against the poet."

"Potter is jealous of potter, and craftsman of craftsman; and the poor have a grudge against the poor, and the poet against the poet."

Hesiod, Greek Poet

18

"For there is no defense for a man who, in the excess of his wealth, has kicked the great altar of Justice out of sight."

"For there is no defense for a man who, in the excess of his wealth, has kicked the great altar of Justice out of sight."

Aeschylus, Greek Poet

Wealth, Defense, Excess, Justice

18

"I love everything that's old, - old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine."

"I love everything that's old, - old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine."

Oliver Goldsmith, Irish Poet

Friendship, Love, Books, Friends, Manners

18

"You must cultivate value within yourself if you want to move forward."

"You must cultivate value within yourself if you want to move forward."

Bryant McGill, American Poet

Values, Truth, Happiness, Power, Wisdom

18

"There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love."

"There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love."

Bryant McGill, American Poet

Forgiveness, Love

18

"Many poets write books. They'll tell you: Well, I've got my next book, but there are two poems I need to write, one about x, one about y. This is a wonder to me."

"Many poets write books. They'll tell you: Well, I've got my next book, but there are two poems I need to write, one about x, one about y. This is a wonder to me."

Sharon Olds, American Poet

Books, Poems, Poets, Wonder

18

"A Christian is the highest style of man."

"A Christian is the highest style of man."

Edward Young, English Poet

Christian, Man, Style

18

"The body is the soul's poor house or home, whose ribs the laths are and whose flesh the loam."

"The body is the soul's poor house or home, whose ribs the laths are and whose flesh the loam."

Robert Herrick, British Poet

Home, Soul, Body, Poor

18

"Even the people who have had success and made money writing these books of fiction seem to feel the need to pretend it's no big deal, or part of a natural progression from poetry to fiction, but often it's really just about the money, the perceived prestige."

"Even the people who have had success and made money writing these books of fiction seem to feel the need to pretend it's no big deal, or part of a natural progression from poetry to fiction, but often it's really just about the money, the perceived prestige."

George Murray, Canadian Poet

Money, Poetry, Success, People

18

"I would rather have a nod from an American, than a snuff- box from an emperor."

"I would rather have a nod from an American, than a snuff- box from an emperor."

George Byron, Scottish Poet

Nationalism, American

18

"Love works a different way in different minds, the fool it enlightens and the wise it blinds."

"Love works a different way in different minds, the fool it enlightens and the wise it blinds."

John Dryden, English Poet

18

"You can do anything, literally, right? That's one of the exciting possibilities of the present."

"You can do anything, literally, right? That's one of the exciting possibilities of the present."

Charles Olson, American Poet

Possibility, Possibilities, Present, Right

18

"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

18

"And love's the noblest frailty of the mind."

"And love's the noblest frailty of the mind."

John Dryden, English Poet

18

"To speak and to speak well, are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks."

"To speak and to speak well, are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks."

Ben Jonson, English Poet

Fool, Man, May, Talk

18

"The world is not fair, and often fools, cowards, liars and the selfish hide in high places."

"The world is not fair, and often fools, cowards, liars and the selfish hide in high places."

Bryant McGill, American Poet

Coward, Cowards, Fools, World

18

"If you are ever at a loss to support a flagging conversation, introduce the subject of eating."

"If you are ever at a loss to support a flagging conversation, introduce the subject of eating."

Leigh Hunt, English Poet

Conversation, Eating, Loss, Support

18

"You might think that it would he the natural desire of every man to develop as an independent personality, but this does not seem to be true."

"You might think that it would he the natural desire of every man to develop as an independent personality, but this does not seem to be true."

Herbert Read, English Poet

Desire, Man, Personality

18

"First our pleasures die - and then our hopes, and then our fears - and when these are dead, the debt is due dust claims dust - and we die too."

"First our pleasures die - and then our hopes, and then our fears - and when these are dead, the debt is due dust claims dust - and we die too."

Percy Bysshe Shelley, English Poet

18

"What is the robbing of a bank compared to the founding of a bank?"

"What is the robbing of a bank compared to the founding of a bank?"

Bertolt Brecht, German Poet

Entrepreneurship, Founding

18

"Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force - that thoughts rule the world."

"Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force - that thoughts rule the world."

Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Poet

Strength, Men, Thoughts, Force, Spiritual

18

"The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling."

"The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling."

Lucretius, Roman Poet

Persistence, Rain, Violence

18

"Heaven finds an ear when sinners find a tongue."

"Heaven finds an ear when sinners find a tongue."

Francis Quarles, English Poet

18

"Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt."

"Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt."

William Allingham, Irish Poet

Autumn, Day, Fire, Now

18

"In the midst of the fountain of wit there arises something bitter, which stings in the very flowers."

"In the midst of the fountain of wit there arises something bitter, which stings in the very flowers."

Lucretius, Roman Poet

18

"What is fame? an empty bubble; Gold? a transient, shining trouble."

"What is fame? an empty bubble; Gold? a transient, shining trouble."

James Grainger, Scottish Poet

Fame, Gold, Trouble

18

"Moments always blossom more beautifully in memories."

"Moments always blossom more beautifully in memories."

Richelle E. Goodrich, American Poet

Nostalgia, Memory, Truth, Power, Emotion

18

"Earth changes, but thy soul and God stand sure."

"Earth changes, but thy soul and God stand sure."

Robert Browning Hamilton, American Poet

God, Soul, Earth

18

"I like poems you can tack all over with a hammer and there are no hollow places."

"I like poems you can tack all over with a hammer and there are no hollow places."

John Ashbery, American Poet

18

"I was very lucky to have a mother who encouraged me to become a poet."

"I was very lucky to have a mother who encouraged me to become a poet."

Philip Levine, American Poet

18

"I am not very moved by historical apologies."

"I am not very moved by historical apologies."

Tom Paulin, Irish Poet

Apology, Apologies

18

"Human material seems to have one major defect: it does not like to be considered merely as human material. It finds it hard to endure the feeling that it must resign itself to passive acceptance of changes introduced from above."

"Human material seems to have one major defect: it does not like to be considered merely as human material. It finds it hard to endure the feeling that it must resign itself to passive acceptance of changes introduced from above."

Czeslaw Milosz, Polish Poet

Acceptance, Feeling

18

"How fortune brings to earth the over-sure!"

"How fortune brings to earth the over-sure!"

Petrarch, Italian Poet

18

"We read Robert Browning's poetry. Here we needed no guidance from the professor: the poems themselves were enough."

"We read Robert Browning's poetry. Here we needed no guidance from the professor: the poems themselves were enough."

Carl Sandburg, American Poet

Poetry, Guidance, Poems

18

"Whoever, fleeing marriage and the sorrows that women cause, does not wish to wed comes to a deadly old age."

"Whoever, fleeing marriage and the sorrows that women cause, does not wish to wed comes to a deadly old age."

Hesiod, Greek Poet

Age, Marriage, Women, Cause

18

"There are some friends you don't meet for twenty years and when you meet them again it's as if no twenty years has happened - you're lucky when that happens. I feel the same about books."

"There are some friends you don't meet for twenty years and when you meet them again it's as if no twenty years has happened - you're lucky when that happens. I feel the same about books."

Norman MacCaig, Scottish Poet

Friendship, Books, Friends, Years

18

"Telling lies does not work in advertising."

"Telling lies does not work in advertising."

Stanislaw Lec, Polish Poet

Work, Advertising, Lies

18

"Sleep is an excellent way of listening to an opera."

"Sleep is an excellent way of listening to an opera."

James Stephens, Irish Poet

Sleep, Listening, Opera

18

"To a resolute mind, wishing to do is the first step toward doing. But if we do not wish to do a thing it becomes impossible."

"To a resolute mind, wishing to do is the first step toward doing. But if we do not wish to do a thing it becomes impossible."

Robert Southey, English Poet

Success, First, Mind, Wishing

18

"To me the meanest flower that blows can give thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears."

"To me the meanest flower that blows can give thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears."

William Wordsworth, English Poet

Nature, Lie, Thoughts, Deep, Tears

18

"The prayers of cowards fortune spurns."

"The prayers of cowards fortune spurns."

Ovid, Roman Poet

Coward, Cowards, Fortune

18

"Whoever has trusted a woman has trusted deceivers."

"Whoever has trusted a woman has trusted deceivers."

Hesiod, Greek Poet

18

"Hold those things that tell your history and protect them. During slavery, who was able to read or write or keep anything? The ability to have somebody to tell your story to is so important. It says: 'I was here. I may be sold tomorrow. But you know I was here.'"

"Hold those things that tell your history and protect them. During slavery, who was able to read or write or keep anything? The ability to have somebody to tell your story to is so important. It says: 'I was here. I may be sold tomorrow. But you know I was here.'"

Maya Angelou, American Poet

Heritage, History, Memory, Legacy, Oppression

18

"The best effect of fine persons is felt after we have left their presence."

"The best effect of fine persons is felt after we have left their presence."

Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Poet

Social, Presence, People, Effect, Memory

18

"Do not wait; the time will never be "just right." Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along."

"Do not wait; the time will never be "just right." Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along."

George Herbert, British Poet

Time, Work, May, Right

18

"Lovers may be and indeed generally are enemies, but they never can be friends, because there must always be a spice of jealousy and a something of Self in all their speculations."

"Lovers may be and indeed generally are enemies, but they never can be friends, because there must always be a spice of jealousy and a something of Self in all their speculations."

George Byron, Scottish Poet

Friendship, Enemies, Friends, Jealousy, Lovers

18

"This terrifying world is not devoid of charms, of the mornings that make waking up worthwhile."

"This terrifying world is not devoid of charms, of the mornings that make waking up worthwhile."

Wislawa Szymborska, Polish Poet

Beauty, Waking, World

18

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