For me, form is something I locate in the process of writing the poems. What I mean is, I start scribbling, and… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
I don't know if anyone has ever mentioned this, we need to be careful with drugs! They're not just all fun and… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
I don't think poetry needs to be "easily understandable." First of all, there are often complexities of syntax, form, unfamiliar absences, etc.,… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
That choice to be ready to reject all other purposes, in favor of the possibilities of language freed from utility, is when… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
I personally believe the role of poets as poets (which is something different from our obligations as citizens, community members, humans) is… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
Today is such a strange day. The news is out about the Russians and mini-Donald. This seems like a turning point, but… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
All my closest friends came to me through poetry. My wife, too! Other than my family, poetry is the gravitational force of… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
That being said, some of my favorite poets are extremely funny. The aforementioned Matt Rohrer, for instance. Mary Ruefle. James Tate might… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
I've always been more than a little mystified by poets who seem to think talking to people as directly as possible is… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
Keats's odes are among my favorite poems ever. As are Neruda's. So yes, I think my poems are odes, though I really… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
Milton on speed. I am going to need about a decade to think about that. That delay in syntax, the putting off… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
I was thinking a little bit about this very thing - poetry and music - the other day when I was listening… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
I think it is our job as poets to refuse the terms that society so often sets for usefulness. That, for instance,… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
It is funny, and also a bit sad, that poets are so often asked to justify our vocation. There seems to be something vaguely… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
The question does arise if how and why to write poetry in this time. It feels both completely essential and also quite difficult. But… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
That name, SUN BEAR, just sounds like an ideogram to me. Super resonant. By the way, this all might be related to Tomaž Šalamun's… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
Music and songs have always been a constant part of my life, and still are. My brother Michael, who is a songwriter and composer,… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
My own experience as a reader and writer has been that the more I read, and the more I live, the more different "types"… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
Thinking in prose is different. I gained an immense amount of respect for people who write prose, and also felt even more sure that… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
Something can be symbolic without being a mere stand-in or vessel, which just brings us away from the true mystery and dread, into some… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
It may very well be that we have entered another time when most poets will feel compelled to use poetry to stop things from… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
The speaker tentatively reaches out with that feeling and realizes that it's kind of absurd, or at least a dangerous consolation, which is what… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
I've noticed that there can be a visceral reaction to strong statements about poetry, as if anyone who has an opinion and expresses it… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
Somewhere back a whiskey or so ago I wrote that thinking was a real thing in the world, just like anything else. I mean… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
If freedom in the imagination is a privilege, it's one I believe everyone should have, as a basic human right. I also believe that… — Matthew Zapruder Copy Share Image
