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
My first poem was a bolt from the blue … it broke a spell of disillusion and suicidal despondence. ... it filled me with soul satisfying joy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote describes the transformative power of poetry in overcoming despair and finding joy.
In this quote, William Carlos Williams reflects on the moment he created his first poem, describing it as a sudden and powerful revelation that lifted him from a state of deep disillusionment and depression. The poem not only broke a spell of hopelessness but also filled him with a profound and fulfilling joy, highlighting the capacity of art, specifically poetry, to bring about emotional and mental breakthroughs.
Themes
PoetryJoyDespairTransformationArt
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the healing power of creativity and artistic expression.
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.
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
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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.
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
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George R. R. MartinRead
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In vain have oceans been squandered on you, in vain the sun, wonderfully seen through Whitman’s eyes. You have used up the years and they have used up you, and still, and still, you have not written the poem.
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