Backgrounds Quote by David Whyte

Many other cultures value poetry more than we do. In Ireland, poetry is a top cultural pursuit, the art to end all arts.

— Campbell McGrath

I began to write in an enclosed, self-confident literary culture. The poet's life stood in a burnished light in the Ireland of that time.…

— Eavan Boland

Ireland is not at all a simple place, and in many ways it is spare and sad. It has no wealth, no power, no…

— Shana Alexander

We have been able to have fine poetry in England because the public do not read it, and consequently do not influence it. The…

— Oscar Wilde

Poetry is not Irish or any other nationality; and when writers such as Messrs. Clarke, Farren and the late F. R. Higgins pursue Irishness…

— Patrick Kavanagh

For an American, there's no automatic place where people love the art of poetry. There's not a social class that considers poetry its property…

— Robert Pinsky

By definition, poetry works with qualities and dynamics that mainstream society is reluctant to face head-on. It's an interesting phenomenon that by necessity, poetry…

— David Whyte

Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind. It is the outlet for people to say in public what…

— Allen Ginsberg

I certainly can't speak for all cultures or all societies, but it's clear that in America, poetry serves a very marginal purpose. It's not…

— Mark Strand

Ireland is a wonderful place to write in. Even although the atmosphere was so Faith-laden that I was often worried that I was not…

— Nancy Spain

I have always loved American poetry, which is very different from Irish poetry.

— Eavan Boland

Poetry lies at the centre of the literary experience because it is the form that most clearly asserts the specificity of literature.

— Jonathan Culler