And at least in poetry you should feel free to lie. That is, not to lie, but to imagine what you want, to follow the direction of the poem.
Mark StrandRead
A great many people seem to think writing poetry is worthwhile, even though it pays next to nothing and is not as widely read as it should be.
Interpretation
Writing poetry is valuable despite its low financial rewards and limited readership.
This quote reflects on the intrinsic value of poetry as an art form, suggesting that many individuals acknowledge its worth and importance in society, even when it does not provide financial stability or widespread recognition. It highlights the passion and dedication of poets and readers who appreciate the emotional and intellectual depth that poetry can offer.
In practice
In a poetry reading, one might start with this quote to emphasize the passion behind creating art.
And at least in poetry you should feel free to lie. That is, not to lie, but to imagine what you want, to follow the direction of the poem.
...In another time, What cannot be seen will define us, and we shall be prompted To say that language is error, and all things are wronged By representation. The self, we shall say, can never be Seen with a disguise, and never be seen without one.
Even this late it happens the coming of love, the coming of light. You wake and the candles are lit as if by themselves, stars gather, dreams pour into your pillows, sending up warm bouquets of air. Even this late the bones of the body shine and tomorrowβs dust flares into breath.
No voice comes from outer space, from the folds of dust and carpets of wind to tell us that this is the way it was meant to happen, that if only we knew how long the ruins would last we would never complain.
From the shadow of domes in the city of domes,_x000D_ A snowflake, a blizzard of one, weightless, entered your room_x000D_ And made its way to the arm of the chair where you, looking up_x000D_ From your book, saw it the moment it landed. That's all_x000D_ There was to it.
There's a certain point, when you're writing autobiographical stuff, where you don't want to misrepresent yourself. It would be dishonest.
My apartment is my stage, and my bedroom is my stage - they're just not stages you're allowed to see.
I haven't found a drug yet that can get you anywhere near as high as a sitting at a desk writing, trying to imagine a story no matter how bizarre it is, [or] going out and getting into the weirdness of reality and doing a little time on the Proud Highway.
To create anything β whether a short story or a magazine profile or a film or a sitcom β is to believe, if only momentarily, you are capable of magic. These essays are about that magic β which is sometimes perilous, sometimes infectious, sometimes fragile, sometimes failed, sometimes infuriating, sometimes triumphant, and sometimes tragic. I went up there. I wrote. I tried to see.
And I don't feel any form of music is beyond me in the sense of that I don't understand it or I don't have some love for some part of it.
It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else.
The first poems I knew were nursery rhymes, and before I could read them for myself, I had come to love just the words of them, the words alone.
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