Approach Quote by Jacqueline Woodson

A poem is like a person. The more you know someone, the more you realize there is always something more to know and understand.…

— Matthew Zapruder

Too many poets write poems which are only difficult on the surface, difficult because the dramatic situation is easily misunderstood. It's not difficult to…

— Miller Williams

In a manner of speaking, the poem is its own knower, neither poet nor reader knowing anything that the poem says apart from the…

— Allen Tate

“There’s only the writing, which I admit to knowing very little about. But then it’s probably best not to know. It allows one to…

— Russell Edson

I don't think poetry needs to be "easily understandable." First of all, there are often complexities of syntax, form, unfamiliar absences, etc., that require…

— Matthew Zapruder

Poetry is subconscious conversation, it is as much the work of those who understand it and those who make it.

— Sonia Sanchez

“To my way of thinking the function of the poet is to make us aware of what we know and don't know we know.”

— William S. Burroughs

Poetry is often the art of overhearing yourself say things you didn't know you knew. It is a learned skill to force yourself to…

— David Whyte

Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be inadvisable to draw it out . . .. Perfect understanding will…

— A. E. Housman

“A poet writes what they see every day, what they know, what they’ve lived or barely lived through.”

— Jason E. Hodges

It is very difficult to explain poetry. You have to understand the poetry and figure out your own take and your relatability.

— Shoojit Sircar

“Poems are surmountable. They have rhymes and rhythms to help you make meaning. They're short enough. . . to read and reread until you've…

— Laurie Frankel