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David Lehman Quotes

Poet

David Lehman is an American poet, born on June 11, 1948. His poetry is deeply influenced by the American modern poetry tradition, known for its unique perspective and linguistic style.

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All Ifs Air Criticism Seems Academic Activity Admiration Annihilation Artist Blur

Famous David Lehman Quotes

“Not every madman is an agent of the divine, Not all who pass are allowed to come through.”

Modern Life Traffic Stop

Author:David Lehman

“I am completing a book I began back in 2002 called 'Poems in the Manner of.' 'The Matador of Metaphor' is from this manuscript. It is an homage to Wallace Stevens that appropriates certain of his techniques.”

Book Certain Metaphor Technique Manuscripts Homage Completing Matadors

Author:David Lehman

“The best song lyrics seem to me so artful, so brilliant, so warm and humorous, with both passion and wit, that my admiration is matched only by my envy.”

Seems Song Passion Humorous Warm Envy Brilliant Wit Admiration Matched

Author:David Lehman

“Words have no single fixed meaning. Like wayward electrons, they can spin away from their initial orbits and enter a wider magnetic field. No one owns them or has a proprietary right to dictate how they will be used.”

Used Fields Fixed Initials Orbit Magnetic Electrons Magnetic Fields

Book:Signs of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul de Man

Source: Signs of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul de Man

“Obscurantism is the academic theorist's revenge on society for having consigned him or her to relative obscurity - a way of proclaiming one's superiority in the face of one's diminished influence.”

Way Faces Influence Revenge Relative Academic Superiority Obscurity Theorists Proclaiming

Book:Signs of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul de Man

Source: Signs of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul de Man

“Jargon is the verbal sleight of hand that makes the old hat seem newly fashionable; it gives an air of novelty and specious profundity to ideas that, if stated directly, would seem superficial, stale, frivolous, or false. The line between serious and spurious scholarship is an easy one to blur, with jargon on your side.”

Source: Signs of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul de Man

“There is an air of last things, a brooding sense of impending annihilation, about so much deconstructive activity, in so many of its guises; it is not merely postmodernist but preapocalyptic.”

Lasts Air Activity Criticism Annihilation Guise Brooding

Book:Signs of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul de Man

Source: Signs of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul de Man

“Poetry criticism at its worst today is mean in spirit and spiteful in intent, as if determined to inflict the wound that will spur the artist to new heights if it does not cripple him or her.”

Ifs Mean Doe Today Spirit Artist Worst Criticism Determined Wounds Height Spurs Cripples Spiteful

Book:The State of the Art: A Chronicle of American Poetry, 1988-2014

Source: The State of the Art: A Chronicle of American Poetry, 1988-2014

“If you have too good a time writing hostile reviews, you'll injure not only your sensibility but your soul.”

Ifs Writing Soul Your Soul Reviews Sensibility Hostile

Book:The State of the Art: A Chronicle of American Poetry, 1988-2014

Source: The State of the Art: A Chronicle of American Poetry, 1988-2014

“If you're not paying for it through the health plan, you pay for it in the emergency room.”

Ifs Rooms Pay Plans Emergencies Emergency Room Health Plan

Author:David Lehman

About the Author

Born: June 11, 1948
Known for: Poet
Quotes: 10

Books & Sources

Signs of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul de ManRelated source material

The State of the Art: A Chronicle of American Poetry, 1988-2014Related source material

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