John Hollander: Poem

“Contrastive stress is very important in English, as poems are full of invisible italicised contrasts of this kind.”

“Reciting a poem aloud, you are not like an actor, rather you come to understand, then to be, the voice of the poem itself.”

“Poetry may be written on paper, but it’s an oral art. A good poem satisfies the ear. It creates a story or picture that grabs you.”

“Not being a philosopher I've had to work through my feelings and puzzlements in poems.”

“The more you understand a poem and its complexities and depth, the more you will be able to do when reading it aloud.”

“Reading a poem aloud by someone who understands it, can be a crucial experience, but better yet is reading it aloud oneself.”

“Inspiration comes within a framework. A poem that gets out of hand is not a poem.”

“I usually seem to finish a poem when I write it down. I may have been carrying the notion around in my head.”