“The Ideal This is where I came from. I passed this way. This should not be shameful Or hard to say. A self is a self. It is not a screen. A person should respect What he has been. This is my past Which I shall not discard. This is the ideal. This is hard.” PoetryPoemDespairMinimalismThe Ideal Author:James Fenton
“God, A Poem 'I didn't exist at Creation, I didn't exist at the Flood, And I won't be around for Salvation To sort out the sheep from the cud- 'Or whatever the phrase is. The fact is In soteriological terms I'm a crude existential malpractice And you are a diet of worms” GodPoetry Author:James Fenton
“It is not what they built. It is what they knocked down. It is not the houses. It is the spaces between the houses. It is not the streets that exist. It is the streets that no longer exist.” WarPoetryDestruction Author:James Fenton
“The writing of a poem is like a child throwing stones into a mineshaft. You compose first, then you listen for the reverberation.” WritingFirstsChildrenPoetryStonesThrowingWriting PoetryReverberationPoetry ReadingThrowing Stones Author:James Fenton
“Babies are not brought by storks and poets are not produced by workshops.” PoetryPoetBabyWorkshopsStorks Author:James Fenton
