“The Jews are among the aristocracy of every land; if a literature is called rich in the possession of a few classic tragedies, what shall we say to a national tragedy lasting for fifteen hundred years, in which the poets and the actors were also the heroes.” IfsYearsActorsLiteratureRichLandPoetHeroHundredTragedyJewPossessionClassicLastingFifteenAristocracy Author:George Eliot
“[Rhyme is] but the invention of a barbarous age, to set off wretched matter and lame Meter; ... Not without cause therefore some both Italian and Spanish poets of prime note have rejected rhyme, ... as have also long since our best English tragedies, as... trivial and of no true musical delight; which [truly] consists only in apt numbers, fit quantity of syllables, and the sense variously drawn out from one verse into another, not in the jingling sound of like endings, a fault avoided by the learned ancients both in poetry and all good oratory.” LongMatterAgeCausesSoundNumbersPoetFitTragedyFaultsNotesMusicalDelightInventionPrimeItalianQuantityVersesRejectedRhymeWretchedAvoidedMeterLameSyllablesOratory Author:John Milton
“Patricia Smith is one of the best poets around and has been for a long time. Her Blood Dazzler is full of capacious soul and formal inventiveness: the compassion and artfulness necessary to capture the tragedies and Tragedy of Katrina. Smith is herself a storm of beautiful, frightening talent. Her words will wash you or wash you away. I consider this new book a major literary event.” LongHas BeensBookSoulBeautifulCompassionBloodTalentEventsPoetMajorsLong TimeTragedyStormCaptureFrighteningFormalNew BooksKatrinaInventivenessBest Poet Author:Terrance Hayes
“It is not possible, for a poet, writing in any language, to protect himself from the tragic elements in human life.... [ellipsis in source] Illness, old age, and death--subjects as ancient as humanity--these are the subjects that the poet must speak of very nearly from the first moment that he begins to speak.” LifeWritingFirstsHumansMomentsAgePoetryHumanitySpeakLanguageSubjectsPoetSourceProtectElementsTragedyAncientIllnessOld AgeHuman LifeTragic Author:Louise Bogan
“The greatest tragedy that can befall a poet is to be praised by being misunderstood.” PoetTragedyMisunderstoodBeing Misunderstood Author:Pattiann Rogers