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"553 Poem & Poetry Quotes

People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me, what they think a poet laureate should do. I found that immensely valuable.

Asking Country Even Found
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It's the combination of the intimate and the public that I find so exciting about being poet laureate.
About Being Combination Exciting
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There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest is how I want to promote poetry.

Advise Congress Distinct Duties
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He who draws noble delights from sentiments of poetry is a true poet, though he has never written a line in all his life.

Who draws Nobles delights Poetry
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I was apprehensive. I feared every time I talked about poetry, it would be filtered through the lens of race, sex, and age.
About Age Every Feared
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For many years, I thought a poem was a whisper overheard, not an aria heard.
Heard Many Poem Thought
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I have a high guilt quotient. A poem can go through as many as 50 or 60 drafts. It can take from a day to two years-or longer.

Day Drafts Go Guilt
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I carry a notebook with me everywhere. But that's only the first step.

Carry Everywhere First Me
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My favorite poets may not be your bread and butter. I have more favorite poems than favorite poets.

Bread Butter Favorite May
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In working on a poem, I love to revise. Lots of younger poets don't enjoy this, but in the process of revision I discover things.

Discover Enjoy Lots Love
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The poetry that sustains me is when I feel that, for a minute, the clouds have parted and I've seen ecstasy or something.

Clouds Ecstasy Feel Me
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Poetry is the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads.

Art Creating Gardens Imaginary
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In a poem the excitement has to maintain itself. I am governed by the pull of the sentence as the pull of a fabric is governed by gravity.

Am Excitement Fabric Governed
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I see no reason for calling my work poetry except that there is no other category in which to put it.
Calling Category Except I See
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The earth's distances invite the eye. And as the eye reaches, so must the mind stretch to meet these new horizons. I challenge anyone to stand with autumn on a hilltop and fail to see a new expanse not only around him, but in him, too.

Earth Eye Reaches Mind
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And there begins a lang digression about the lords o' the creation.

About Begins Creation Lords
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The border between the Real and the Unreal is not fixed, but just marks the last place where rival gangs of shamans fought each other to a standstill.

Between Border Each Fixed
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The path up is the path down. The way forward is the way back. The universe inside is outside but the universe outside is inside.

Back Down Forward Inside
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Then the maiden climbed into a tree, and, seating herself in the branches, began to knit.

The maiden Climbed Branches
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Now at the end of a long avenue, but when he turned to, look for his followers not one was to be seen; the woods had closed instantly upon him as he had passed through. He was entirely alone, and utter

End Long avenue Followers Seen
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All June I bound the rose in sheaves, Now, rose by rose, I strip the leaves

Bound June Leaves Now
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Thou art my single day, God lends to leaven What were all earth else, with a feel of heaven.

Art Day Earth Else
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Better have failed in the high aim, as I, Than vulgarly in the low aim succeed As, God be thanked! I do not.

Aim Better Failed God
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The longest way must have its close - the gloomiest night will wear on to a morning.

Longest way Close Gloomiest night
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The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.

Bitterest tears Over graves Words Unsaid
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..the heart has no tears to give,--it drops only blood, bleeding itself away in silence.

Heart No tears Only blood Silence
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It's a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best people have always done.

Matter Taking Weak Strong
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So subtle is the atmosphere of opinion that it will make itself felt without words.

So subtle Atmosphere Opinion Words
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Everything your money can buy, given with a cold, averted face, is not worth one honest tear shed in real sympathy?

Everything Money Averted face Worth
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Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.

Burning Evidence Just Life
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I never really liked poetry readings; I liked to read poetry by myself, but I liked singing, chanting my lyrics to this jazz group.

Group Jazz Liked Lyrics
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I always thought that poetry is the verdict that others give to a certain kind of writing. So to call yourself a poet is a kind of dangerous description. It's for others; it's for others to use.

Always Call Certain Dangerous
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Out of the thousands who are known or who want to be known as poets, maybe one or two are genuine and the rest are fakes, hanging around the sacred precincts, trying to look like the real thing.

Around Genuine Hanging Known
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I think the term poet is a very exalted term and should be applied to a man at the end of his work. When he looks back over the body of his work and he's written poetry then let the verdict be that he's a poet.

Applied Back Body End
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If you stare at a wall from four in the morning till nine at night, and you do that for a week, you are getting pretty close to nothingness.

Close Four Getting Morning
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People wish to be poets more than they wish to write poetry, and that's a mistake. One should wish to celebrate more than one wishes to be celebrated.

Celebrate Celebrated Mistake More
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Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language.
Just Language Life Matter
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A great poet is the most precious jewel of a nation.

Great Jewel Most Nation
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Wine is bottled poetry.
Bottled Poetry Wine
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Every discourse, even a poetic or oracular sentence, carries with it a system of rules for producing analogous things and thus an outline of methodology.

Carries Discourse Even Every
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I wrote some bad poetry that I published in North African journals, but even as I withdrew into this reading, I also led the life of a kind of young hooligan.

African Also Bad Even
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A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.
Diamond Chunk Coal Under pressure
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Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I'd strike the sun if it insulted me.

Talk Blasphemy Man Insulted
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For there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men

Folly Beast Earth Madness
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A man thinks that by mouthing hard words he understands hard things.

Man thinks Mouthing Hard words Things
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Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form.

Human madness Cunning Think
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Beneath those stars is a universe of gliding monsters.
Beneath Stars Universe
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At length I fell asleep, with the volume in my hand; and never slept so sound before

Length Fell asleep Volume Sound
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Write as the wind blows and command all words like an army!

Write Wind blows Command words
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Do not, I beseech you, be troubled about the increase of forces already in dissolution. You have mistaken the hour of the night; it is already morning.

Beseech Troubled Increase Dissolution
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