850 private quotes tagged poetry

“I was excited by what my painter friends were doing, and they seemed to be interested in our poetry too, and that was a wonderful little, fizzy sort of world.” — Kenneth Koch

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“I wonder if I ever thought of an ideal reader... I guess when I was in my 20s and in New York and maybe even in my early 30s, I would write for my wife Janice... mainly for my poet friends and my wife, who was very smart about poetry.” — Kenneth Koch

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“I was influenced by surrealist poetry and painting as were thousands of other people, and it seems to me to have become a part of the way I write, but it's not.” — Kenneth Koch

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“I believe that the short story is as different a form from the novel as poetry is, and the best stories seem to me to be perhaps closer in spirit to poetry than to novels.” — Tobias Wolff

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“Poetry teaches us music, metaphor, condensation and specificity.” — Walter Mosley

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“But it is the province of religion, of philosophy, of pure poetry only, to go beyond life, beyond time, into eternity.” — Alfred de Vigny

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“Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people.” — Adrian Mitchell

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“Written poetry is different. Best thing is to see it in performance first, then read it. Performance is more provocative.” — Adrian Mitchell

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“I do not see how a man can work on the frontiers of physics and write poetry at the same time. They are in opposition.” — Paul Dirac

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“I want to write a book of poetry, as well as children's stories.” — Bobby McFerrin

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“If a line of poetry strays into my memory, my skin bristles so that the razor ceases to act.” — A. E. Housman

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“So now I have a collection of poetry by Aaron Neville and I give it to people I want to share it with. I'd like to publish it someday.” — Aaron Neville

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“I have always written poetry but I have never applied it to songwriting.” — Janine Turner

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“We all need ways to express ourselves, and poetry is one of mine.” — Jack Prelutsky

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“Poetry seems to sink into us the way prose doesn't. I can still quote verses I learned when I was very young, but I have trouble remembering one line of a novel I just finished reading.” — Jack Prelutsky

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“Otherwise I don't read much adult poetry at all, because I'm not smart enough and mostly I don't get it.” — Jack Prelutsky

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“I look for poetry in English because it's the only language I read.” — Jack Prelutsky

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“Frankly, writing poetry for children is plain old fun, and I consider myself blessed to have such a delightful career.” — Jack Prelutsky

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“Children seem naturally drawn to poetry - it's some combination of the rhyme, rhythm, and the words themselves.” — Jack Prelutsky

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“That is what I did with Jack, and that's why he liked to do the readings with me because he knew I was there for him, and for our ability to blend the poetry and the music.” — David Amram

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“There is a wonderful Hungarian literature, especially in lyric poetry.” — Gyorgy Ligeti

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“I don't like poetry that just slaps violent words on a canvas, as it were.” — Anne Stevenson

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“I have always made my own rules, in poetry as in life - though I have tried of late to cooperate more with my family. I do, however, believe that without order or pattern poetry is useless.” — Anne Stevenson

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“I'm not really quiet or shy. Ask any of my friends! But I always ground my poetry in life itself. Poetry is an art of language, though, so I am always aware of every word's meaning, or multiple meanings.” — Anne Stevenson

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“Poets should ignore most criticism and get on with making poetry.” — Anne Stevenson

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