“I don't think poetry is something that can be taught. We can encourage young writers, but what you can't teach them is the very essence of poetry.”
Poetry says in twenty words what prose takes two hundred to approximate. These quotes explore the craft, the beauty, and the necessity of verse — from poets who live for it and readers who are grateful they do.
“Poetry lies its way to the truth.”
“I don't think poetry is something that can be taught. We can encourage young writers, but what you can't teach them is the very essence of poetry.”
“The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth.”
“Poetry for me is as much a spiritual practice as sexual ecstasy is.”
“Money is a kind of poetry.”
“The cloning of humans is on most of the lists of things to worry about from Science, along with behaviour control, genetic engineering, transplanted heads, computer poetry and the unrestrained growth of plastic flowers.”
“I often imagine that the longer he studies English literature the more the Japanese student must be astonished at the extraordinary predominance given to the passion of love both in fiction and in poetry.”
“I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry that is, prose = words in their best order - poetry = the best words in the best order.”
“Unfortunately, poetry is not born in noise, in crowds, or on a bus. There have to be four walls and the certainty that the telephone will not ring. That's what writing is all about.”
“A poet looks at the world the way a man looks at a woman.”
“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.”
“A public expectation, it has to be said, not of poetry as such but of political positions variously approvable by mutually disapproving groups.”
“Teaching writing over the years intrudes on your own writing in important ways, taking away some of the excitement of poetry.”
“Poetry is about the grief. Politics is about the grievance.”
“I credit poetry for making this space-walk possible.”
“It's like I understand images and some people understand poetry.”