Robert Pinsky: Poem

Robert Pinsky is American poet, editor, literary critic, academic.. Explore interesting quotes on poem.

Robert Pinsky: 42 quotes2 likes

“Craft is something you learn by studying models. When a student asks, what is a good book about traditional iambic verse, The Collected Poems of Ben Jonson. What is an excellent book about free verse? The Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams. What is a good book about short line in ballad metre? The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson.”

Interview at Skidmore College Aug 1995,published 'Paris Review' no 144 Fall 1997
The Art of Poetry - interview 1995 with Downing & Kunitz

“No aspect of a poem is more singular, more unique, than its rhythm.”

'The Sounds of Poetry' Farrar,Strauss & Giroux 1998
The Sounds of Poetry 1998

“I am very interested in memorization which is the process of incorporating a poem, so, I would say the kind of poetry I write is the kind that emphasises the physical qualities of the words.”

WPFW-FM inteview with Grace Cavalieri 1995/96 season

“Part of making a poem is a process of day- dreaming.”

Singing School -Learning to Write (and read) Poetry W W Norton, New York 2013
Singing School

“I think what holds a poem like this together for me, if it’s held together, is largely meter; this one is in iambic pentameter and iambic pentameter whatever else it is, can be a very good glue. It is a very good way to hold things together. It’s like 4:4 you know.”

WPFW-FM inteview with Grace Cavalieri 1995/96 season

“Poetry is the most bodliy of arts, the medium of poetry is the column of breath rising from the diaphragm in the individual's chest to be shaped into meaning sounds inside the mouth of whoever undertakes to say the poem.”

The Art of Poetry - interview 1995 with Downing & Kunitz

“A poem is free, and it shows its freedom by establishing its own principles.”

Singing School

“Craft is something you learn by studying models. When a student asks, what is a good book about traditional iambic verse, The Collected Poems of Ben Jonson. What is an excellent book about free verse? The Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams.”

What is a good book about short line in ballad metre? The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson.
The Art of Poetry - interview 1995 with Downing & Kunitz