Listen, real poetry doesn't say anything; it just ticks off the possibilities. Opens all doors. You can walk through any one that suits you. Jim Morrison doorlistenopen Change image and share on social
That's a wonderful change that's taken place, and so most poetry today is published, if not directly by the person, certainly by the enterprise of the poet himself, working with his friends. A. R. Ammons changedirectlyenterprise Change image and share on social
The thing about great poetry is we have no defenses against it. David Whyte defensegreatpoetry Change image and share on social
To me, art begets art. Painting feeds the eye just as poetry feeds the ear, which is to say that both feed the soul. Susan Vreeland artbegetear Change image and share on social
In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite. Paul Dirac exactknowopposite Change image and share on social
When I was a young man, I understood that poetry was two things - it was difficult to understand, but you could understand that the poet was miserable. So for a while there, I wrote poems that were hard to understand, even by me, but gave off whiffs of misery. Billy Collins difficultgivehard share on social
Poetry is the revelation of a feeling that the poet believes to be interior and personal which the reader recognizes as his own. Salvatore Quasimodo believefeltinterior Change image and share on social
The only thing that can save the world is the reclaiming of the awareness of the world. That's what poetry does. Allen Ginsberg awarenesspoetryreclaim Change image and share on social
The muse, the beloved, and duende are three ways of thinking of what is the source of poetry, and all three seem to me different names or different ways to think about something that is not entirely reasonable, not entirely subject to the will, not entirely rational. Edward Hirsch belovedduendemuse share on social
I never really liked poetry readings; I liked to read poetry by myself, but I liked singing, chanting my lyrics to this jazz group. Leonard Cohen chantgroupjazz Change image and share on social
