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Elaine Equi Books

Poet

Elaine Equi, born in 1953, is a talented poet whose works are renowned for their profound emotions and unique style. She is highly regarded by readers and has made significant contributions to contemporary literature.

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Related Quotes

“I like being married to another writer. You get to trade ideas. You get to talk shop. You get to complain. You get to gossip. And you don't have to explain why you're in such a bad mood when your work isn't going well.”

Wells Ideas Married Trade Complaining Mood Shops Gossip Being Married Bad Mood

Author:Elaine Equi

“I tend to like poems that are short as well as funny. I love Joe Brainard and Aram Saroyan. And I think their sense of humor and minimalist approach are pretty radical.”

Thinking Wells Approach Radical Sense Of Humor Minimalist

Author:Elaine Equi

“I've always liked language and been a big reader. I always loved books as objects. My favorite time of year as a child was September when we'd go buy all kinds of notebooks and pens and markers for school. I think I wanted to be a writer just so I'd be able to fill up all those pages.”

Thinking Years Kind Children Book Bigs Able Wanted School Language Objects Reader Pages My Favorite All Kinds Pens September Notebook Markers

Author:Elaine Equi

“To be honest, I wasn't crazy about the kind of poetry I found in high school English books. I didn't get really excited about poetry until I discovered Lorca in college. If it wasn't for surrealism, I'm not sure I'd have become so involved in poetry. I was attracted by the extravagant imagery and elements of fantasy. This was in the '70s and it seemed to fit the psychedelic mood of the times. I found it liberating.”

“I think poetry workshops get a bad rap. I'm sure some aren't good, but in general, I like the format. I try and keep mine pretty informal. Sometimes we have wine or sake, and we read aloud, and we talk.”

Thinking Trying Sometimes Mines Wine Sake Rap Format Workshops

Author:Elaine Equi

“It's my experience that people write better when they feel at ease and free to experiment, rather than being in a competitive, hypercritical atmosphere. There are always a few students who want me to be tough or harsh, but it's really not my style.”

People Want Feels Writing Style Students Tough Experiments Atmosphere Ease Want Me Harsh

Author:Elaine Equi

“Sometimes you get lit students that know a lot about the canon but virtually nothing about contemporary poetry and vice versa. I like to mix things up.”

Knows Sometimes Students Vices Contemporary Lit Vice Versa Canon

Author:Elaine Equi

“In Chicago, if you tell someone you're a writer, they look at you suspiciously - as if to say "yeah, right." In New York, people don't question the idea. If you say you're a writer, that's what you are.”

People Ifs Looks Ideas New York Yeah Chicago

Author:Elaine Equi

“I have a lot of respect for advertising. If I didn't teach and could go back in time, I might try and become a copywriter. I especially like print ads that combine a photo with a short caption or tag line.”

Ifs Trying Might Lines Teach Advertising Print Ads Tag Back In Time Go Back In Time Caption

Author:Elaine Equi

“When I shut off the verbal, I like to escape into the visual.”

Author:Elaine Equi

“I like to look at the interface between words and pictures and wonder about which comes first, a sort of chicken-or-egg type of question.”

Firsts Looks Wonder Type Eggs Chickens Interfaces

Author:Elaine Equi

“I can never plan out what direction my poems will take in terms of either form or content. I wish I could but it doesn't work that way for me. If I try to write something, I'd probably end up doing the opposite.”

Ifs Way Writing Trying I Can Ends Form Wish Term Plans Opposites

Author:Elaine Equi

“I don't write every day, but if I go more than a couple of months without writing, I begin to get a little nervous. I usually have bursts of poems. Five or six come together and then I slack off and want to do something else.”

Ifs Want Writing Littles Together Five Months Couple Six Nervous

Author:Elaine Equi

“In order for poetry to exist there has to be not-poetry to contrast it with.”

Author:Elaine Equi

“There are fewer and fewer philosophies that everyone subscribes to. We don't seem to have as many beliefs in common as we used to. Also, we interact much more online. We have all these gadgets to help us manage different aspects of our lives.”

Different Philosophy Helping Seems Used Belief Common Our Lives Aspect Manage Online Fewer Gadgets

Author:Elaine Equi

“In the past things were either in your head (subjective, imaginary, fantasy) or else they were part of the outside world - cold, hard, concrete materialistic reality. If you want to look at it in terms of poetry, there was surrealism and objectivism. Now there's the veil of the virtual in between. The old opposition between inner and outer doesn't quite capture it, especially as it contains elements of both. It's real but not concrete.”

Ifs World Want Looks Real Hard Reality Past Term Fantasy Cold Elements Opposition Capture Concrete Imaginary Veils Subjective Materialistic Outside World Surrealism Objectivism

Author:Elaine Equi

“Technology sounds quick and easy, but it ends up taking up too much of your time.”

Ends Easy Sound Technology Too Much

Author:Elaine Equi

“I never liked the philosophy that you can have everything and be everything and that something is wrong if you don't want that. I'm terrible at multitasking and find it hard to believe that no one protests this general trend of using the rhetoric of self actualization to sell you faster and faster phones and computers, BlackBerrys, etc.”

Ifs Want Believe Self Hard Philosophy Terrible Computer Sells Phones Faster Etc Protest Trends Rhetoric Self Actualization Hard To Believe Multitasking Actualization

Author:Elaine Equi

“I don't like speed. I would have made a terrible Futurist. Even when I did take drugs, I never liked amphetamines and much preferred the slow taffy-pull of time that you get with opiates.”

Made Terrible Drug Speed Opiates Futurist Amphetamines Taffy

Author:Elaine Equi

“I wonder if books become in essence "files" if people wouldn't write them differently. I'm used to writing print books and I enjoy the slowness of the whole process. It makes me more deliberate about everything I say.”

People Ifs Writing Book Whole Used Process Enjoy Wonder Essence Print Deliberate Files Slowness Print Books

Author:Elaine Equi

“I can appreciate the idea that with e-books more people would publish, the work would be easier to disseminate, and that it could even be interactive. Being a lover of photography, I especially like the idea that you could include lots of pictures - full-color pictures - with your writing. That to me is exciting! We'll all have to stay tuned to see what develops.”

People Writing I Can Book Ideas Would Be Color Lovers Easier Photography Appreciate Exciting Publish Interactive

Author:Elaine Equi

“The postcard is sacred to me. It makes me sad that no one sends them very much anymore because of email and texting. I still like to buy them, but they've lost their original function and now just seem like reminders or mementos of what they used to be.”

Stills Seems Used Lost Function Originals Sacred Used To Be Email Reminders Texting Postcards Memento

Author:Elaine Equi

“In a machine, every part has a function. In a poem, every word needs to be there.”

Needs Machines Function

Author:Elaine Equi

“When I think of someone equating poems and machines, it makes me feel like that person would like poems to have a more obvious use value in society. They're not happy with poetry being this ephemeral, indefinable thing. They want it to be "real."”

Thinking Want Feels Persons Real Use Values Machines Obvious Poetry Is Being Real Not Happy Ephemeral Indefinable Values In Society

Author:Elaine Equi

“The earth has always supported me in all my endeavors. I trust it.”

Author:Elaine Equi

“I tend to be a pretty spacey and scattered person, so anything that makes me feel "grounded" comes as a welcome relief.”

Feels Persons Welcome Relief Grounded

Author:Elaine Equi

“I think the more stability a person has, the more they can follow esoteric or intellectual pursuits.”

Thinking Persons Intellectual Pursuit Stability Esoteric

Author:Elaine Equi

“The inner and outer, the visible and invisible, the abstract and concrete - you've got to get the balance right (not that I do, but it's something to aim for).”

Balance Aim Invisible Abstract Visible Concrete

Author:Elaine Equi

“What I like best about teaching is that it allows me to explore my own interest with a group.”

Interest Teaching

Author:Elaine Equi

About the Author

Born: 1953
Known for: Poet
Quotes: 29

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