I consider a poem to be a kind of experiment where a number of elements are brought together under test conditions to see how they will interact to create meaning or relevance. John Barton bringconditioncreate Change image and share on social
Reading should be a repeat performance. John Barton performancereadrepeat Change image and share on social
No poem is easily grasped; so why should any reader expect fast results? John Barton easilyexpectfast Change image and share on social
Sometimes poetry is inspired by the conversation entered into by reading other poems. John Barton conversationenterinspire Change image and share on social
We are comfortable with the fact that we cannot know personally what happened in the world before we were born, yet we are uncomfortable with the notion that we will stop engaging with time at some point in the future. John Barton bearcomfortableengage share on social
The community of poets I belong to is not as close as it used to be, if only for the fact that our lives have become busier: jobs, children, and the like. John Barton belongbusychild Change image and share on social
I sometimes like to tinker with poems that have failed, ones that I have sent aside. Even years afterward, I will revisit them if there is something about them that I cannot give up on. John Barton afterwardfailgive Change image and share on social
I have become intrigued with the combining of seemingly unrelated ideas or images, or the drawing upon the many, sometimes dissimilar, meanings a word might have. John Barton combinedissimilardraw Change image and share on social
I have been told by a member of the board of one of Canada's most prominent literary magazines that a submission of mine once caused a great deal of controversy. John Barton boardcanadacause Change image and share on social
