For the mind and the imagination, bookstores aren't enough, college courses aren't enough, the Internet isn't enough. Those resources are all governed by the tastes and needs of the moment. Only libraries take the long view, quietly shelving the unused… — Helen Vendler Copy Share Image
You don’t read or overhear the voice in the poem, you are the voice in the poem. — Helen Vendler Copy Share Image
I wouldn't be very happy if a poet read what I had written and said, 'What a peculiar thing to say about this work… — Helen Vendler Copy Share Image
I like art history and art criticism. Leo Steinberg has always been my favorite. He's very original, very accurate and acute. — Helen Vendler Copy Share Image
I think that a lot of things are hard to read if you're not in the vocabulary flow of that particular discourse. I sometimes… — Helen Vendler Copy Share Image
If you like the precision and concision of poetry, a page of prose is unsatisfying in a certain way. And poetry is so direct. — Helen Vendler Copy Share Image
I liked teaching Henry James. When you look down at a Henry James novel from a helicopter height, you find an intricate spider web… — Helen Vendler Copy Share Image
The non-artists among us are always terribly busy, but finally disappear without a trace. — Helen Vendler Copy Share Image
I would like to spend more time with Spanish poetry. I know French better than Spanish, but Spanish was my first language, and my… — Helen Vendler Copy Share Image
The art of utterance persuades initially by its music and its rhythm, before semiotic or personal characteristics come into play. — Helen Vendler Copy Share Image
I like art history and art criticism. Leo Steinberg has always been my favorite. Hes very original, very accurate and acute. — Helen Vendler Copy Share Image
Twentieth-century American poetry has been one of the glories of modern literature. — Helen Vendler Copy Share Image