In a poem the excitement has to maintain itself. I am governed by the pull of the sentence as the pull of a fabric is governed by gravity.
About Marianne Moore
Marianne Craig Moorewas an American modernist poet, critic, translator, and editor. Her poetry is noted for its formal innovation, precise diction, irony, and wit.
More quotes from Marianne Moore
Psychology which explains everything explains nothing, and we are still in doubt.
American poet (1887-1972)
If technique is of no interest to a writer, I doubt that the writer is an artist.
American poet (1887-1972)
I see no reason for calling my work poetry except that there is no other category in which to put it.
American poet (1887-1972)
Beauty is everlasting And dust is for a time.
American poet (1887-1972)
In a poem the excitement has to maintain itself. I am governed by the pull of the sentence as the pull of a fabric is governed by gravity.
American poet (1887-1972)
It is human nature to stand in the middle of a thing.
American poet (1887-1972)
Any writer overwhelmingly honest about pleasing himself is almost sure to please others.
American poet (1887-1972)
Superior people never make long visits.
American poet (1887-1972)
It is quite cruel that a poet cannot wander through his regions of enchantment without having a critic, forever, like the old man of the sea, upon his back.
American poet (1887-1972)
Poetry is all nouns and verbs.
American poet (1887-1972)
Impatience is the mark of independence, not of bondage.
American poet (1887-1972)
You’re not free until you’ve been made captive by supreme belief.
American poet (1887-1972)
As contagion of sickness makes sickness, contagion of trust can make trust.
American poet (1887-1972)
If you will tell me why the fen appears impassable, I then will tell you why I think that I can cross it if I try.
American poet (1887-1972)
The passion for setting people right is in itself an afflictive disease.
American poet (1887-1972)
Poetry is the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads.
American poet (1887-1972)
My father used to say superior people never make long visits.
American poet (1887-1972)
We are suffering from too much sarcasm.
American poet (1887-1972)
There never was a war that was not inward.
American poet (1887-1972)
A writer is unfair to himself when he is unable to be hard on himself.
American poet (1887-1972)
The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence; not in silence, but restraint.
American poet (1887-1972)
When one cannot appraise out of one’s own experience, the temptation to blunder is minimized, but even when one can, appraisal seems chiefly useful as appraisal of the appraiser.
American poet (1887-1972)