---
title: "2 Poetry Needs Quotes By Alex Lemon"
description: "2 Poetry Needs quotes by Alex Lemon. Plus more from Alex Lemon and more Poetry Needs sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c05/alex-lemon-35846_alive_poetry-needs-to-be-alive-unabashedly-and_150425.jpg"
---

> [Poetry needs to be alive, unabashedly, and, for me, that entails seeing its complexity, the grit and grimness and jubilance and beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/poetry-needs-to-be-alive-unabashedly-and-for-me-that-entails-seeing/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c05/alex-lemon-35846_alive_poetry-needs-to-be-alive-unabashedly-and_150425.jpg)

> [I've never thought of my poems as violent. Violence, to me, has so much negativity attached to it - maybe that's my trouble with the word. But ferocious - indeed, I'll take it. And yes, poetry does need a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-ve-never-thought-of-my-poems-as-violent-violence-to-me-has-so-much/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/alex-lemon-35846_beauty_i-ve-never-thought-of-my-poems-as-violen_2568875.jpg)

## More by Alex Lemon

> [I found it incredibly challenging to write clear prose that had the dynamism that I wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-found-it-incredibly-challenging-to-write-clear-prose-that-had-the/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

> [Poetry needs to be alive, unabashedly, and, for me, that entails seeing its complexity, the grit and grimness and jubilance and beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/poetry-needs-to-be-alive-unabashedly-and-for-me-that-entails-seeing/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

> [I think of my best poems as vessels that I can or hope to fill with everything I have. I try to give to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-think-of-my-best-poems-as-vessels-that-i-can-or-hope-to-fill-with/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

> [The world comes to us in fragments and shards. Whatever stories we shape from our days, we're always dealing with gaps, blank-spots, and blackouts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/the-world-comes-to-us-in-fragments-and-shards-whatever-stories-we/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

> [Well, we're all going to die, so mortality is a part of writing and life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/well-we-re-all-going-to-die-so-mortality-is-a-part-of-writing-and-life/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

> [I see the relationship sincerity/humor differently. Instead of seeing a balance between them, I see them more inextricably linked, as if one is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-see-the-relationship-sincerity-humor-differently-instead-of-seeing/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

> [My poems and prose are not often in direct conversation with each other, but there's so much crossover - everything that comes out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/my-poems-and-prose-are-not-often-in-direct-conversation-with-each/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

> [The more prose I wrote, the more the pendulum swung back toward the middle, merging some poetic sensibilities with the more fundamental elements of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/the-more-prose-i-wrote-the-more-the-pendulum-swung-back-toward-the/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

> [“I can be black magic Or boring as hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-can-be-black-magic-or-boring-as-hell/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

> [I think of my best poems as vessels that I can or hope to fill with everything I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-think-of-my-best-poems-as-vessels-that-i-can-or-hope-to-fill-with-2/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

> [Poetry does need a bit of ferocity. The only way to attend to the fractured world is to write a ferocious kind of music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/poetry-does-need-a-bit-of-ferocity-the-only-way-to-attend-to-the/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

> [I've never thought of my poems as violent. Violence, to me, has so much negativity attached to it - maybe that's my trouble with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-ve-never-thought-of-my-poems-as-violent-violence-to-me-has-so-much/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

> [Being deeply aware of fragility and ecstasy seems to me an essential part of being alive and living fully - and there's no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/being-deeply-aware-of-fragility-and-ecstasy-seems-to-me-an-essential/)

[Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-needs/alex-lemon/#itemlist",
            "name": "2 Poetry Needs Quotes By Alex Lemon",
            "numberOfItems": 2,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Poetry needs to be alive, unabashedly, and, for me, that entails seeing its complexity, the grit and grimness and jubilance and beauty.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Alex Lemon"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/poetry-needs-to-be-alive-unabashedly-and-for-me-that-entails-seeing/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c05/alex-lemon-35846_alive_poetry-needs-to-be-alive-unabashedly-and_150425.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c05/alex-lemon-35846_alive_poetry-needs-to-be-alive-unabashedly-and_150425.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c05/alex-lemon-35846_alive_poetry-needs-to-be-alive-unabashedly-and_150425.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Poetry needs to be alive, unabashedly, and, for me, that entails seeing its complexity, the grit and…” — Alex Lemon",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I've never thought of my poems as violent. Violence, to me, has so much negativity attached to it - maybe that's my trouble with the word. But ferocious - indeed, I'll take it. And yes, poetry does need a bit of ferocity. Poetry needs to be alive, unabashedly, and, for me, that entails seeing its complexity - the grit and grimness and jubilance and beauty.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Alex Lemon"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-ve-never-thought-of-my-poems-as-violent-violence-to-me-has-so-much/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/alex-lemon-35846_beauty_i-ve-never-thought-of-my-poems-as-violen_2568875.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/alex-lemon-35846_beauty_i-ve-never-thought-of-my-poems-as-violen_2568875.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/alex-lemon-35846_beauty_i-ve-never-thought-of-my-poems-as-violen_2568875.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I've never thought of my poems as violent. Violence, to me, has so much negativity attached to it - maybe…” — Alex Lemon",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-needs/alex-lemon/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-needs/alex-lemon/",
            "name": "Poetry Needs Quotes by Alex Lemon",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-needs/alex-lemon/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c05/alex-lemon-35846_alive_poetry-needs-to-be-alive-unabashedly-and_150425.jpg"
            },
            "description": "2 Poetry Needs quotes by Alex Lemon. Plus more from Alex Lemon and more Poetry Needs sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-needs/alex-lemon/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-needs/alex-lemon/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Poetry Needs",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-needs/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Alex Lemon",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-needs/alex-lemon/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```