“I look at the great poets of the Soviet Union, like Anna Akhmatova, who endured far worse then anything we've seen or hopefully that we will ever see. If they could keep writing and keep a voice alive, keep people hopeful through their poetry, then I would be ashamed to stop and to give in. It would be really self-indulgent, unacceptable, and inexcusable to walk away from it.” PeopleIfsGivingWritingLooksSelfWould BeVoiceWalksAlivePoetUnionsHopefullyAshamedHopefulSovietSoviet UnionAnnaGreat PoetSelf Indulgent Author:Sara Paretsky
“Dear old al-Maarri was a great skeptic poet. He wrote a parody of the Koran, and his friends would tease him and say, "al-Maarri, but no one says your Koran." And he said, "Yes, but give me time. Give me time. If people recite it for twenty years it will become as popular as the other one."” PeopleIfsGivingYearsSaidPoetGive MeTwentiesDearAlsSkepticTeaseParody Author:Tariq Ali
“I was reading Emily Dickinson and Edwin Arlington Robinson, but these weren't the poets that influenced me. I think Gwendolyn Brooks influenced me because she wrote about Chicago, and she wrote about poor people. And she influenced me in my life by giving me a blurb. I would see her in action, and she listened to every single person. She didn't say, "Oh, I'm tired. I gotta go." She was there, and present, with every single person. She's one of the great teachers.” PeopleThinkingGivingPersonsActionReadingPoorTeacherPoetTiredChicagoPoor PeopleBrooksI'm TiredGreat TeacherSingle PersonEmilyArlington Author:Sandra Cisneros
“I think that what's happening today, with all the young poets rushing from one college to another, lecturing at the drop of a hat and so on, is not too good; I think it might have a bad effect on a great many of the young poets. They - to quote Mark Twain - "swap juices" a little too much, so that they are in danger of losing their own identity and don't give themselves time enough in which to work out what's really of importance to them - they're too busy.” ThinkingGivingLittlesEnoughMightTodayYoungToo MuchEffectsDangerIdentityCollegePoetLosingHappeningsImportanceMarkBusyWork OutGreat MenHatsJuiceToo BusyRushingLecturing Author:Conrad Aiken
“You could be a poet, an artist, a comedian - if you're in the culture of innovation then you embrace those who do and you're going to protect the science curriculum in the classroom because you understand the meaning and the value of it. And science discoveries don't scare you. You say, "Give me more science", not less. "Give me more technology", not less.” IfsGivingArtistValuesCultureTechnologyPoetProtectDiscoveryGive MeInnovationEmbraceComedianScareClassroomCurriculum Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“You have to give your art everything you can - I don't mean only writing, but studying other poets and poetics, thinking, reading what poets have written other than their poetry.” ThinkingGivingWritingMeanArtReadingStudyWrittenPoet Author:Adrienne Rich
“Part of the pleasure of giving a reading comes from the rapport between the audience and the poet. I don't want to get mystical here, but there's an energy flow that begins with the poet, and the energy goes out to the audience, and they're energized, and then they return that energy to the poet. As someone standing up there alone, facing these people, I can feel that rapport (or its absence).” PeopleGivingReadingEnergyPleasureAudiencePoetAbsenceMysticalRapport Author:Ron Padgett
“My path to poetry was slow and meandering. When I eventually found my way to graduate school at 29, making a life as a poet seemed like a bohemian fantasy. But maybe my zigzagging trajectory is just an excuse for tardiness, when fear is really the root of any reason I might give. My perfectionism and pace are certainly driven by fear that a poem is imperfect or incomplete. More significantly, my struggle to fully dedicate myself to poetry was a fear of failure.” GivingReasonSchoolFantasyStrugglePathPoetExcuseDrivenMy WayGraduatesImperfectFear Of FailureIncompletePerfectionismGraduate SchoolBohemianMy Struggle Author:Robin Beth Schaer
“The poet gives us his essence, but prose takes the mould of the body and mind entire.” GivingMindBodyPoetEssenceProseMind And BodyMold Author:Virginia Woolf