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
As birds' wings beat the solid air without which none could fly so words freed by the imagination affirm reality by their flight.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Imagination and words are essential for expressing and confirming our reality.
This quote by William Carlos Williams emphasizes the fundamental role of imagination and language in shaping our understanding of the world. Just as birds cannot fly without the air that allows their wings to beat, our thoughts and ideas find their full expression through words, which serve to affirm and share our realities. The interplay between imagination and language is vital for communicating and realizing our experiences.
Themes
ImaginationWordsRealityExpressionLanguage
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech highlighting creative expression.
More from William Carlos Williams
All quotes βFor the beginning is assuredly the end- since we know nothing, pure and simple, beyond our own complexities.
William Carlos WilliamsRead
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
William Carlos WilliamsRead
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.
William Carlos WilliamsRead
No opinion can be trusted; even the facts may be nothing but a printer's error.
William Carlos WilliamsRead
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
Similar quotes
When you live completely in each moment, without expecting anything, you have no idea of time.
Shunryu SuzukiRead
It is the mind which creates the world around us, and even though we stand side by side in the same meadow, my eyes will never see what is beheld by yours, my heart will never stir to the emotions with which yours is touched.
George GissingRead
No man or woman is an island. To exist just for yourself is meaningless. You can achieve the most satisfaction when you feel related to some greater purpose in life, something greater than yourself.
Denis WaitleyRead
Words can bring you only up to their own limit; to go beyond, you must abandon them. Remain as the silent witness only.
Sri Nisargadatta MaharajRead
Man is the only animal capable of reasoning, though many others possess the faculty of memory and instruction in common with him.
AristotleRead
What do I know of man's destiny? I could tell you more about radishes.
Samuel BeckettRead