New Collected Poems
A source page for quotes linked to George Oppen.
“Poetry must be at least as powerful as music, but I am not sure that it is possible.”
“The first question at that time in poetry was simply the question of honesty, of sincerity.”
“There are situations which cannot honorably be met by art.”
“Things explain each other, not themselves.”
“The self is no mystery, the mystery is / That there is something for us to stand on”