Famous Quotes

Quotes by Mark Strand

• A great many people seem to think writing poetry is worthwhile, even though it pays next to nothing and is not as widely read as it should be.
• A life is not sufficiently elevated for poetry, unless, of course, the life has been made into an art.
• And at least in poetry you should feel free to lie. That is, not to lie, but to imagine what you want, to follow the direction of the poem.
• And yet, in a culture like ours, which is given to material comforts, and addicted to forms of entertainment that offer immediate gratification, it is surprising that so much poetry is written.
• I believe that all poetry is formal in that it exists within limits, limits that are either inherited by tradition or limits that language itself imposes.
• I certainly can't speak for all cultures or all societies, but it's clear that in America, poetry serves a very marginal purpose. It's not part of the cultural mainstream.
• I think the best American poetry is the poetry that utilizes the resources of poetry rather than exploits the defects or triumphs of the poet's personality.
• I would say that American poetry has always been a poetry of personal testimony.
• It's very hard to write humor.
• Pain is filtered in a poem so that it becomes finally, in the end, pleasure.
• Poetry is something that happens in universities, in creative writing programs or in English departments.
• Poetry is, first and last, language - the rest is filler.
• The future is always beginning now.
• Usually a life turned into a poem is misrepresented.