“Each newcomer feels obliged to do something else, forgetting that if he himself is somebody he will necessarily do that something else," said Valéry. And Roethke told students to "write like somebody else." There are those usual people who try… — Richard Hugo Copy Share Image
“there’s too many people in here. If I had my way, I’d have nothing but young chicks, the innocent ones you can teach something.” — Richard Hugo Copy Share
I will garden on the double run, my rhythm obvious in the ringing rakes, and trust in fate to keep me poor and kind… — Richard Hugo Copy Share
A poet is seldom hard up for advice. The worst part of it all is that sometimes the advice is coming from other poets,… — Richard Hugo Copy Share
...an imagined town is at least as real as an actual town. If it isn't, you may be in the wrong business. Our words… — Richard Hugo Copy Share
“…I’ve seen the world tell us with wars and real estate developments and bad politics and odd court decisions that our lives don’t matter.… — Richard Hugo Copy Share
A creative writing class may be one of the last places you can go where your life still matters. — Richard Hugo Copy Share
Maximum sentence length: seventeen words. Minimum:one No semicolons. Semicolons indicate relationships that only idiots need defined by punctuation. Besides, they are ugly. Make sure… — Richard Hugo Copy Share
“We won’t all disappear on a remote country road in the Monroe Valley, but like The Admiral and his wife we are all going… — Richard Hugo Copy Share
“You might come here Sunday on a whim. Say your life broke down. The last good kiss you had was years ago. You walk… — Richard Hugo Copy Share
Assuming you can write clear English sentences, give up all worry about communication. If you want to communicate, use the telephone. — Richard Hugo Copy Share
Don't write love poems when you're in love. Write them when you're not in love. — Richard Hugo Copy Share
