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Anne Sexton Quotes

Poet

Anne Sexton was an American poet known for her confessional and autobiographical poetry. Her works delved deeply into personal pain, family relationships, and social issues, profoundly influencing 20th-century poetry.

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All Poetry Heart Knows Ifs White God Thinking Poet Men Body Children Life Want Mouths Needs Writing Eye My Heart Sea Born

Famous Anne Sexton Quotes

“Poets are sitting in my kitchen. Why do these poets lie? Why do children get children and Did you hear what it said?”

Children Said Lying Poetry Poet Sitting Kitchen

Author:Anne Sexton

“I did not know the woman I would be nor that blood would bloom in me each month like an exotic flower, nor that children, two monuments, would break from between my legs.”

Knows Children Two Would Be Break Growing Up Blood Flower Months Aging Legs Monument Exotic Each Month

Author:Anne Sexton

“It is in the small things we see it. The child's first step, as awesome as an earthquake. The first time you rode a bike, wallowing up the sidewalk.”

Firsts Children Steps Courage First Time First Steps Bike Small Things Earthquakes Sidewalk Wallowing

Book:The Awful Rowing Toward God

Source: The Awful Rowing Toward God

“Our children tremble in their teen-age cribs, whirling off on a thumb or a motorcycle.”

Children Age Our Children Maturity Adolescence Thumbs Motorcycle

Book:45 Mercy Street

Source: 45 Mercy Street

“The family story tells, and it was told true, of my great-grandfather who begat eight genius children and bought twelve almost new grand pianos. He left a considerable estate when he died.”

Children Stories Left Genius Died Eight Piano Twelve Grandfather Estates Great Grandfather

Book:Selected poems

Source: Selected poems

“When they turn the sun on again I'll plant children under it, I'll light up my soul with a match and let it sing.”

Children Soul Light Joy Turns Hope Sun Plant My Soul Light Up

Book:Words for Dr. Y.: uncollected poems with three stories

Source: Words for Dr. Y.: uncollected poems with three stories

“I am tearing the feathers out of the pillows, waiting, waiting for Daddy to come home and stuff me so full of our infected child that I turn invisible, but married, at last.”

Children Home Lasts Turns Stuff Waiting Marriage Married Abuse Invisible Coming Home Child Abuse Daddy Feathers Pillow

Book:Selected Poems of Anne Sexton

Source: Selected Poems of Anne Sexton

“the heart, this child of myself that resides in the flesh, this ultimate signature of the me, the start of my blindness and sleep, builds a death crèche.”

Heart Children Sleep Ultimate Flesh Blindness Signatures

Book:Love Poems

Source: Love Poems

“Loving me with my shoes off means loving my long brown legs, sweet dears, as good as spoons; and my feet, those two children let out to play naked.”

Mean Children Long Two Play Body Feet Sweet Shoes Legs Naked Brown Spoons Loving Me

Book:Love Poems

Source: Love Poems

“It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.”

“All I wanted was a little piece of life, to be married, to have children.... I was trying my damnedest to lead a conventional life, for that was how I was brought up, and it was what my husband wanted of me. But one can't build little white picket fences to keep the nightmares out.”

Trying Children Littles Wanted White Pieces Husband Married Nightmare My Husband Conventional Fence Being Married Picket Fences Conventional Life

Author:Anne Sexton

“The Witch's Life" When I was a child there was an old woman in our neighborhood whom we called The Witch. All day she peered from her second story window from behind the wrinkled curtains and sometimes she would open the window and yell: Get out of my life! She had hair like kelp and a voice like a boulder. I think of her sometimes now and wonder if I am becoming her.”

Ifs Thinking Children Sometimes Stories Voice Behinds Wonder Hair Becoming Window Neighborhood Witch Curtains Old Woman Boulders

Book:The Awful Rowing Toward God

Source: The Awful Rowing Toward God

About the Author

Born: November 9, 1928
Died: October 4, 1974
Known for: Poet
Quotes: 369

Books & Sources

Selected Poems of Anne SextonRelated source material

The Awful Rowing Toward GodRelated source material

Anne Sexton: A Self-portrait in LettersRelated source material

Words for Dr. Y.: uncollected poems with three storiesRelated source material

TransformationsRelated source material

45 Mercy StreetRelated source material

Love PoemsRelated source material

The death notebooksRelated source material

Selected poemsRelated source material

Anne Sexton: A Self Portrait in LettersRelated source material

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