Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Matthew Zapruder

Quote by Matthew Zapruder

“All my closest friends came to me through poetry. My wife, too! Other than my family, poetry is the gravitational force of my life.”

Quote by Matthew Zapruder

Create image

Author

Matthew Zapruder
Matthew Zapruder

Matthew Zapruder is an American poet born in 1967. His work is known for its concise and direct language style, exploring themes of personal emotion, cultural identity, and the complexities of modern life. Zapruder's poetry has gained widespread recognition in the literary world, with his works winning multiple awards. more

You May Also Like

“Today is such a strange day. The news is out about the Russians and mini-Donald. This seems like a turning point, but it certainly has felt that way before. Like all of us, I am vibrating with electric uncertainty. How do you manage to concentrate and write poems? I know that for me it is just a relief to be in that sort of thinking, away from the news and all the immense global and personal worries.”

ThinkingWritingTodayWorryStrangeManageUncertaintyElectric
Author:Matthew Zapruder
Create image

“I've noticed that there can be a visceral reaction to strong statements about poetry, as if anyone who has an opinion and expresses it is shutting people down. It's funny to see that expressed, and then to go back and read poetic statements by the great poets of the past: they are full of a passionate conviction! It is clearly possible to express strong feelings about poetry while also defending the absolute right of myriad approaches.”

PeopleFeelingsPastStrongOpinionPoetPassionateConvictionPoeticGreat PoetStrong Feeling
Author:Matthew Zapruder
Create image

“My own experience as a reader and writer has been that the more I read, and the more I live, the more different "types" of poetry I grow to love. I might not even believe anymore that there are "types" of poetry at all. I've come to love things I once would snootily have dismissed. Of course I still have my likes and dislikes, and there are things I think are just plain old bullshit, but more and more I am far more trusting of my loves than my dislikes.”

ThinkingBelieveDifferentDislikeBullshit
Author:Matthew Zapruder
Create image

“I don't think poetry needs to be "easily understandable." First of all, there are often complexities of syntax, form, unfamiliar absences, etc., that require a deeper concentration than is usually demanded of us. So that, right off the bat, is a little difficult. Then there is the deeper issue of what poetry is really asking of us. I feel it is asking us to read with great, even sacred, care and attention. That, too, is difficult. It requires discipline and the creation of a temporary zone of privacy, which is inimical to our current conditions of life.”

ThinkingCareDifficultAttentionCreationDisciplineAbsenceComplexityPrivacyZoneConcentrationPoetry IsTemporary
Author:Matthew Zapruder
Create image

“What poetry is asking us to accept can be difficult. Our proximity to our mortality, the fragility of our existence, how close we live in every moment to nameless abysses, and the way language itself is beautifully, tragically, thrillingly insufficient...these are some of the engines that drive the poem. It's natural to want to turn away from these things. But we have to face them, as best we can, at least sometimes. Poetry can help us in that nearly impossible work.”

SometimesMomentsHelpingLanguageDifficultNaturalExistenceAcceptingImpossiblePoetry IsMortalityAbyss
Author:Matthew Zapruder
Create image