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Quote by Matthea Harvey

“If you were going to make sculptures of them, the swivel poems would be disparate objects all attached with hinges and the prose poems would be small sheep wrapped in extra wool.”

Quote by Matthea Harvey

Author

Matthea Harvey is an American poet, born on September 3, 1973. Her work is known for its unique style and rich imagination, often blending poetry, music, and theatrical elements. more

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“When I start writing a poem, I can usually know quite early on whether it's a lineated or prose poem, but I don't think I can explain how. It's like deciding whether to wear a skirt or a pair of pants.”

Thinking Knows Writing I Can Prose Pairs Pants Skirts

Author:Matthea Harvey

“What I like about prose poems is that they seem to make people uncomfortable - people want to define them, justify them, attack them. Prose poems are natural fence-sitters.”

People Want Seems Natural Uncomfortable Prose Justify Fence

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“I don't see much difference between prose poems and flash fiction (I've often taught the latter as the former), but then I also don't see that much difference between art and poetry.”

Art Differences Fiction Taught Former Prose Latter Flash

Author:Matthea Harvey

“I think of poetry as a very inclusive term. Still, it's interesting that people want to make the distinction. I love the magazine Double Room for that reason (contributors have to write about their ideas on the prose poem/flash fiction).”

People Thinking Want Writing Stills Ideas Reason Term Interesting Rooms Fiction Magazines Prose Distinction Flash Contributors

Author:Matthea Harvey

“Recently, while I was in England, I saw a documentary on the BBC about the border between India and Pakistan at Wagah. When the border closes each evening around six o' clock, the soldiers on each side do these amazing high-stepping peacock march-offs (like a dance-off). The displays are almost identical on each side and thousands gather to watch them. Though they're patrolling along their separate borders, what comes across is how similar they are.”

Sides Watches Saws Six India England Soldier Evening Clock Borders March Display Documentaries Pakistan Identical Peacock India And Pakistan Patrolling

Author:Matthea Harvey

“Whether you're talking about political borders or aesthetic divisions (and clearly, the political ones have much more tragic consequences), it seems like once they are created, we want to patrol them, enforce them.”

Want Seems Political Talking Consequence Borders Tragic Division Aesthetic

Author:Matthea Harvey

“I grew up spending time at my grandmother's farm in Germany and she lived a few kilometers away from the border between east and west Germany. It was so strange that roads which used to connect two towns now ended in the middle.”

Two Used Middle Strange Grew Grew Up Towns West Spending East Borders Germany Grandmother Farms My Grandmother Spending Time East And West West Germany

Author:Matthea Harvey

“I'm all over my poems, even if their relation to my everyday life is that of dream to reality.”

Ifs Dream Reality Life Is Relation Everyday Everyday Life

Author:Matthea Harvey

“Poems can't help but be personal. Mine are certainly an accurate blueprint of the things I think about, if not a record of my daily life.”

Ifs Thinking Helping Records Mines Daily Life Accurate Blueprints

Author:Matthea Harvey

“As a reader I don't distinguish between confessional and non-confessional work. After all, how do we even know that certain "I" poems are confessional? It's a tricky business, this correlating of the speaker and the poet.”

Knows Certain Poet Reader Speakers Tricky

Author:Matthea Harvey