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Say it, no ideas but in things - nothing but the blank faces of the houses and cylindrical trees bent, forked by preconception and accident - split, furrowed, creased, mottled, stained - secret - into the body of the light!
William Carlos Williams
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of expressing ideas through tangible objects rather than abstract concepts.

William Carlos Williams' quote underlines the notion that true expression in art and poetry should be grounded in the physicality of the world around us. He suggests that the richness of our experiences and observations—represented by mundane objects like houses and trees—holds deeper meanings that deserve exploration, challenging the preconceptions that often cloud our perception of reality.

Themes

ExpressionArtRealityPerceptionPhysicality

In practice

Example use cases

During a poetry reading, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of grounding one's work in reality.

More from William Carlos Williams

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.
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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.
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