I like to think that the best poetry is or involves a contest between ordinary conversation and ritual. Download Download Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Rotate quotes contest conversation involve
Jazz is very important. It's not something I can put my finger on. When I'm writing at my favorite time, I like to have the gentle side of Coltrane or Brubeck on the CD player. It creates sort of a spiritual space in which I write best. Miller Williams brubeckcoltranecreate share on social
I don't like poetry that doesn't give me a sense of ritual, but I don't like poetry that doesn't sound like people talking to each other. I try to do both at once. Miller Williams givepeoplepoetry Change image and share on social
A thing may fail as a poem because it tries to do what a poem cannot do: it tries to become a treatise on cosmic truth... We can best be exact about the cosmic things - God and truth, beauty, eternity and love - by not talking directly about them. Miller Williams beautycosmicdirectly share on social
My first career ambitions involved turning into a boy; I intended to be either a railway guard or a knight errant. Hilary Mantel ambitionboycareer Change image and share on social
We exist in this weirdly schizo culture, where sex is everywhere in the media, and yet, at the same time, you don't sit down and have a conversation about what you did in bed last night with your friends. Despite the ubiquity of sex, it's still a taboo when it comes to day-to-day conversation. Mary Roach bedconversationculture share on social
Football is controlled violence, but it is violence, which people have loved to watch since the gladiatorial contests in ancient Rome. Michael Mandelbaum ancientcontestcontrol Change image and share on social