“The arts have a complex relation to society. The poet isn’t a fixed phenomenon, no more is his work.”
Introduction
The Wedge (1944)
Context: A man isn’t a block that remains stationary though the psychologists treat him so — and most take an insane pride in believing it. Consistency! He varies; Hamlet today, Caesar tomorrow; here, there, somewhere — if he is to retain his sanity, and why not?
The arts have a complex relation to society. The poet isn’t a fixed phenomenon, no more is his work.
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William Carlos Williams83
American poet 1883–1963Related quotes
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The Unexpressed.
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Search for the Real and Other Essays (1948)