Best Poetry Sayings

3367 Poetry quotes by 1570 unique authors

You don't have to suffer to be a poet; adolescence is enough suffering for anyone. — John Ciardi
The poet doesn't invent. He listens. — Jean Cocteau
The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth. — Jean Cocteau
A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener scent his roses. — Jean Cocteau
Children and lunatics cut the Gordian knot which the poet spends his life patiently trying to untie. — Jean Cocteau
Take a commonplace, clean it and polish it, light it so that it produces the same effect of youth and freshness and originality and spontaneity… — Jean Cocteau
Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash. — Leonard Cohen
I never really liked poetry readings; I liked to read poetry by myself, but I liked singing, chanting my lyrics to this jazz group. — Leonard Cohen
I always thought that poetry is the verdict that others give to a certain kind of writing. So to call yourself a poet is a… — Leonard Cohen
Poetry is the work of poets, not of peoples or communities; artistic creation can never be anything but the production of an individual mind. — Lascelles Abercrombie
But the gravest difficulty, and perhaps the most important, in poetry meant solely for recitation, is the difficulty of achieving verbal beauty, or rather of… — Lascelles Abercrombie
The poet exposes himself to the risk. All that has been said about poetry, all that he has learned about poetry, is only a partial… — A. R. Ammons
Poetry leads us to the unstructured sources of our beings, to the unknown, and returns us to our rational, structured selves refreshed. — A. R. Ammons
I am grateful for - though I can't keep up with - the flood of articles, theses, and textbooks that mean to share insight concerning… — A. R. Ammons
If we ask a vague question, such as, 'What is poetry?' we expect a vague answer, such as, 'Poetry is the music of words,' or… — A. R. Ammons
The poetry you read has been written for you, each of you - black, white, Hispanic, man, woman, gay, straight. — Maya Angelou
I wrote some of the worst poetry west from the Mississippi River, but I wrote. And I finally sometimes got it right. — Maya Angelou
I liked to write from the time I was about 12 or 13. I loved to read. And since I only spoke to my brother,… — Maya Angelou
I know some people might think it odd - unworthy even - for me to have written a cookbook, but I make no apologies. The… — Maya Angelou
While it is unlikely that poetry or art shall eliminate the reality of war in the twenty-first century, it is thrilling to know there remain… — Aberjhani
Ocean waters..oceans deep..Serious poets never sleep. — Sally-Ann Roberts
Poetry...the deepest abyss of infinity. — Sally-Ann Roberts
Rivers are inherently interesting. They mold landscapes, create fertile deltas, provide trade routes, a source for food and water; a place to wash and play;… — Unknown Author
Whether we call it sacrifice, or poetry, or adventure, it is always the same voice that calls. — Aristotle
The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life. — Jean Giraudoux

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