“We are all writing God's poem.”
Anne Sexton (1928–1974) poet from the United States
As quoted by Erica Jong, in "Into the lion's den" in The Guardian (26 October 2000) http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2000/oct/26/features11.g2
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963), Seymour: An Introduction (1959)
“We are all writing God's poem.”
Anne Sexton (1928–1974) poet from the United States
As quoted by Erica Jong, in "Into the lion's den" in The Guardian (26 October 2000) http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2000/oct/26/features11.g2
Isabella Fyvie Mayo (1843–1914) Scottish poet, novelist, reformer
Reported in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895) by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, p. 388.
“…whether they write poems or don’t write poems, poets are best.”
Randall Jarrell (1914–1965) poet, critic, novelist, essayist
“Recent Poetry”, p. 227
Kipling, Auden & Co: Essays and Reviews 1935-1964 (1980)
Frank O'Hara (1926–1966) American poet, art critic and writer
Personism: A Manifesto, from The Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara (1972).
“The person who wrote the poem can tell you more about the poem than anyone else.”
David Yezzi (1966) American poet
Interview with Ernest Hibert (2006)
Ryōkan (1758–1831) Japanese Buddhist monk
Variant translation:<br>Who says my poems are poems?<br>My poems are not poems.<br>After you know my poems are not poems,<br>Then we can begin to discuss poetry! <br class="br"> "Zen Poetics of Ryokan" in Simply Haiku: A Quarterly Journal of Japanese Short Form Poetry (Summer 2006) http://www.hermitary.com/articles/ryokan_poetics.html <br class="br">Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf : Zen Poems of Ryokan (1993)
Carl Andre (1935) American artist
Quote from a 1962 essay by Andre; as quoted in ' Objects Are What We Aren't' https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/02/26/objects-are-what-we-arent/, by Andy Battaglia; The Parish Review, February 26, 2015
“It takes a spasm of love to write a poem.”
Erica Jong (1942) Novelist, poet, memoirist, critic
How to Save Your Own Life (1977)