Robert Frost had always said you mustn't think of the last line first, or it's only a fake poem, not a real one. I'm inclined to agree.

- Howard Nemerov

Write what you know. That should leave you with a lot of free time.

- Howard Nemerov

Writing is like the relationship with your bowels. First you can, then you can't. Finally, you must. Only then should you reach for the paper.

- Howard Nemerov

It may be said that poems are in one way like icebergs: only about a third of their bulk appears above the surface of the page.

- Howard Nemerov

A teacher is a person who never says anything once.

- Howard Nemerov

Absolute power corrupts absolutely; and if you surrender your personal responsibility to a government which promises to take care of you, they will o…

- Howard Nemerov

Both poet and painter want to reach the silence behind the language, the silence within the language. Both painter and poet want their work to shine …

- Howard Nemerov

A lot happens by accident in poetry.

- Howard Nemerov

The only way out is the way through, just as you cannot escape death except by dying. Being unable to write, you must examine in writing this being u…

- Howard Nemerov