“Reciting a poem aloud, you are not like an actor, rather you come to understand, then to be, the voice of the poem itself.”
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John Hollander 31
American poet 1929–2013Related quotes
“The poem is an original and unique creation, but it is reading and recitation: participation.”
How to Read a Poem And Fall in Love with Poetry (1998)
Variant translation:
Who says my poems are poems?
My poems are not poems.
After you know my poems are not poems,
Then we can begin to discuss poetry!
"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
Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf : Zen Poems of Ryokan (1993)
On choosing poetry as his go-to writing form in “'Felon' Author Says, 'Everybody Has To Tell Their Kids Something'” https://www.npr.org/2019/11/03/775605155/felon-author-says-everybody-has-to-tell-their-kids-something in NPR (2019 Nov 3)
Variant: There is a time for reciting poems and a time for fists.
Source: The Savage Detectives
“For poems are like rainbows; they escape you quickly.”
The Big Sea (1940)
“You must believe: a poem is a holy thing — a good poem, that is.”
Poetry and Craft (1965)