Well Said

“For me, writing poetry is like mining lead with a grapefruit spoon, only it’s considerably less lucrative and nowhere near as much fun.”

* * *

“Thank God for rock and roll. If it weren’t for rock, I’d probably be living a quiet, respectable life right now.”

* * *

“Writing is easy. Writing well is very difficult, and requires an enormous amount of really hard work.”

* * *

“The last thing I care about when I read poetry is whether I understand it. That includes my own.”

“So, if you want to annoy a poet, ask him what his poem means. Then you should get out of the room. Right away.”

* * *

“On thing I learned about writing as a young guy studying French literature, in French, is that sometimes it doesn’t matter what you write, so long as it sounds good.”

* * *

“Poetry is not a matter of life and death. It’s more important than that.”

* * *

“You want to know the best writing advice I can think of? Cut.”

* * *

“One of the things I love about writing is you don’t have to tell the truth. You can exaggerate, fabricate, prevaricate, and lie like a bandit. That’s a great reason for writing. It also makes it a lot more fun than it has any right to be.”

* * *

“I love short sentences. Here are two of the best: “She was tired.” (James Joyce, “Eveline”); “Jesus wept.” (John, 11:35).

* * *

“An oyster knife is a great tool for fixing a jammed stapler. It’s also occasionally useful in opening oysters.”

* * *

“Poems tell secrets about mysteries.”

* * *

“I love poetry. If I couldn’t write, I wouldn’t be able to breathe. I love it. I also love playing with matches.”