Spring, when the earth tilts closer to the sun, runs a strict timetable of flowers. Alice Oswald closeearthflower Change image and share on social
I hate not managing to speak clearly. I really hate it. I get a feeling of claustrophobia - like I'm locked in my own head - if what I've said hasn't reached someone. Alice Oswald claustrophobiafelthate Change image and share on social
At each moment, a poem might grow into a totally different shape. It is not so much like working in a garden. It is more as if you remade the garden every day. Alice Oswald daygardengrow Change image and share on social
Most spiders eat and remake their webs every night. Alice Oswald eatnightremake Change image and share on social
I much preferred Latin to Greek. I loved the language being such a pattern that you could not shift a word without the whole sentence falling to pieces. Alice Oswald fallgreeklanguage Change image and share on social
When I was 16, I was taught by a wonderful teacher who let me ignore the Greek syllabus and just read Homer. Alice Oswald greekhomerignore Change image and share on social
I really think there are spirits in a place that you have to accommodate. Alice Oswald accommodateplacespirit Change image and share on social
It's a question of trying to take down by dictation what's already there. I'm not making something, I'm trying to hear it. Alice Oswald dictationhearmake Change image and share on social
There's a whole range of words that people use about landscape. Pastoral? Idyll? I can't stand them. Alice Oswald idylllandscapepastoral Change image and share on social
One of the rules of Greek lament poetry is that it mustn't mention the dead by name in case of invoking a ghost. Maybe the 'Iliad,' crowded with names, is more than a poem. Maybe it's a dangerous piece of the brightness of both this world and the next. Alice Oswald brightnesscasecrowd share on social