Poets are being pursued by the philosophers today, out of the poverty of philosophy. God damn it, you might think a man had no business to be writing, to be a poet unless some philosophic stinker gave him permission.
William Carlos WilliamsRead
But all art is sensual and poetry particularly so. It is directly, that is, of the senses, and since the senses do not exist without an object for their employment all art is necessarily objective. It doesn't declaim or explain, it presents.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Art, especially poetry, is rooted in sensual experience and must engage with the physical world.
William Carlos Williams emphasizes that all forms of art, poetry in particular, are inherently sensual and rooted in the tangible, physical experiences of the senses. He argues that art does not exist in isolation; rather, it requires an object to engage with, allowing it to present experiences rather than merely describe or explain them.
Themes
ArtPoetrySensesExpressionExperience
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the nature of creativity, this quote can illustrate how art engages our senses.
More from William Carlos Williams
All quotes →For the beginning is assuredly the end- since we know nothing, pure and simple, beyond our own complexities.
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It was the love of love, the love of swallows up all else, a grateful love, a love of natural, of people, of animals, a love ingengering gentleness and goodness that moved meand that I saw in you
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O frost bitten blossoms, That are unfolding your wings From out the envious black branches. Bloom quickly and make much of the sunshine. The twigs conspire against you! Hear hem! They hold you from behind.
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No opinion can be trusted; even the facts may be nothing but a printer's error.
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It is almost impossible to state what one in fact believes, because it is almost impossible to hold a belief and to define it at the same time.
William Carlos WilliamsRead
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