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The Hatred of Poetry

Book by Ben Lerner · 2 quotes · Actual, Poem, Contempt

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All Actual Poem Contempt Desire Divine Experience Finite Gap Genuine Historical Human Impulse Infinite Measure Particular Perfect Poetry Reading Ruthless Total

The Hatred of Poetry Quotes

“Poetry arises from the desire to get beyond the finite and the historical—the human world of violence and difference—and to reach the transcendent or divine. You're moved to write a poem, you feel called upon to sing, because of that transcendent impulse. But as soon as you move from that impulse to the actual poem, the song of the infinite is compromised by the finitude of its terms.”

World Desire Poetry Violence Divine Poem Human Infinite Historical Impulse Finite Transcendent Actual

Book:The Hatred of Poetry

Source: The Hatred of Poetry

“Our contempt for any particular poem must be perfect, be total, because only a ruthless reading that allows us to measure the gap between the actual and the virtual will enable to to experience, if not a genuine poem—no such thing—a place for the genuine, whatever that might mean.”

Reading Perfect Particular Poem Experience Genuine Contempt Ruthless Measure Gap Total Virtual Actual

Book:The Hatred of Poetry

Source: The Hatred of Poetry