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
From the reader's view, a poem is more demanding than prose.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A poem requires more effort to interpret and appreciate compared to prose.
Mark Strand highlights the inherent complexity and depth of poetry, suggesting that readers must engage more actively with poems than with prose. Unlike straightforward narratives, poetry often employs nuanced language, symbolism, and varying structures, which demand a higher level of engagement, contemplation, and emotional investment from the reader.
Themes
PoemProseReadingLiteratureEngagement
In practice
Example use cases
During a literature class focusing on poetry, this quote can be introduced to explain the complexity involved in analyzing poems.
More from Mark Strand
All quotes β...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.
Mark StrandRead
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.
Mark StrandRead
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.
Mark StrandRead
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.
Mark StrandRead
There's a certain point, when you're writing autobiographical stuff, where you don't want to misrepresent yourself. It would be dishonest.
Mark StrandRead
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I am sure that as a woman I can do a very good skyscraper.
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To sing is to love and affirm, _x000D_ to fly and to soar, _x000D_ to coast into the hearts of the people _x000D_ who listen _x000D_ to tell them that life is to live, _x000D_ that love is there, _x000D_ that nothing is a promise, _x000D_ but that beauty exists, _x000D_ and must be hunted for and found.
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While writing, I tend to repeat the same song, endlessly, for thousands of times. This helps me ignore any lyrics, and helps create a consistent mood for each book.
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There are only four great arts: music, painting, sculpture, and ornamental pastry- architecture being perhaps the least banal derivative of the latter.
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Writing poetry is the hard manual labor of the imagination.
Ishmael ReedRead