The irony is, going to work every day became the subject of probably my best poetry. Philip Levine dayironypoetry Change image and share on social
But most commonly, it's one poem that I work on with a lot of intensity. Philip Levine commonlyintensitylot Change image and share on social
If that voice that you created that is most alive in the poem isn't carried throughout the whole poem, then I destroy where it's not there, and I reconstruct it so that that voice is the dominant voice in the poem. Philip Levine alivecarrycreate share on social
Now I think poetry will save nothing from oblivion, but I keep writing about the ordinary because for me it's the home of the extraordinary, the only home. Philip Levine extraordinaryhomeoblivion Change image and share on social
I'm afraid we live at the mercy of a power, maybe a God, without mercy. And yet we find it, as I have, from others. Philip Levine afraidfindgod Change image and share on social
For sure I once thought of myself as the poet who would save the ordinary from oblivion. Philip Levine oblivionordinarypoet Change image and share on social
My temperament is not geared to that of a novelist. Philip Levine gearnovelisttemperament Change image and share on social
It's ironic that while I was a worker in Detroit, which I left when I was twenty six, my sense was that the thing that's going to stop me from being a poet is the fact that I'm doing this crummy work. Philip Levine crummydetroitfact Change image and share on social
I listen to jazz about three hours a day. I love Louis Armstrong. Philip Levine armstrongdayhour Change image and share on social
