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.
Interpretation
Poetry allows for creative freedom and expression that may bend the truth to evoke emotion.
In this quote, Mark Strand emphasizes the unique nature of poetry as a form of art that encourages imaginative expression. He suggests that while poets may not lie in a traditional sense, they have the liberty to conjure visions and emotions that may not adhere to reality, thus fostering a deeper connection with readers through personal interpretation and creativity.
In practice
A poet's reading at a literary festival could incorporate this quote to discuss the freedom of artistic expression.
...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 tomorrow’s 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.
It hardly seems worthwhile to point out the shortsightedness of those practitioners who would have us believe that the form of the poem is merely its shape.
Any subject is good for opera if the composer feels it so intently he must sing it out.
Every grain of experience is food for the greedy growing soul of the artist.
I'm very much aware in the writing of dialogue, or even in the narrative too, of a rhythm. There has to be a rhythm with it … Interviewers have said, you like jazz, don’t you? Because we can hear it in your writing. And I thought that was a compliment.
You want to tell a story? Grow a heart. Grow two. Now, with the second heart, smash the first one into bits.
I feel blessed and humbled that people have loved my music. Nothing would be possible without their acceptance.
Now architecture consists of order, which in Greek is called taxis ... Order is the balanced adjustment of the details of the work separately, and, as to the whole, the arrangement of the proportion with a view to a symmetrical result.
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