Mark Strand Quotes

A great many people seem to think writing poetry is worthwhile, even though it pays next to nothing and is not as widely read as it should be.

A life is not sufficiently elevated for poetry, unless, of course, the life has been made into an art.

And at least in poetry you should feel free to lie. That is, not to lie, but to imagine what you want, to follow the direction of the poem.

And Robert Lowell, of course - in his poems, we're not located in his actual life. We're located more in the externals, in the journalistic facts of his life.

And yet, in a culture like ours, which is given to material comforts, and addicted to forms of entertainment that offer immediate gratification, it is surprising that so much poetry is written.

But I tend to think of the expressive part of me as rather tedious - never curious or responsive, but blind and self-serving.

From the reader's view, a poem is more demanding than prose.

I certainly can't speak for all cultures or all societies, but it's clear that in America, poetry serves a very marginal purpose. It's not part of the cultural mainstream.

I tend to like poems that engage me - that is to say, which do not bore me.

I think the best American poetry is the poetry that utilizes the resources of poetry rather than exploits the defects or triumphs of the poet's personality.

I would say that American poetry has always been a poetry of personal testimony.

It's very hard to write humor.

Nothing is the destiny of everyone, it is our commonness made dumb.

Pain is filtered in a poem so that it becomes finally, in the end, pleasure.

Poetry is, first and last, language - the rest is filler.

The future is always beginning now.

There's a certain point, when you're writing autobiographical stuff, where you don't want to misrepresent yourself. It would be dishonest.

Usually a life turned into a poem is misrepresented.