Anne Stevenson Quotes

Blackbirds are the cellos of the deep farms.

When everything is for 'fun' nothing is for the good.

I like rhyme because it is memorable, I like form because having to work to a pattern gives me original ideas.

I don't like poetry that just slaps violent words on a canvas, as it were.

I think a poet, like a painter, should be a craftsperson.

I remain loyal to Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert in music and to Shakespeare and Jane Austen in literature.

The sea is as near as we come to another world.

There is far too much literary criticism of the wrong kind. That is why I never could have survived as an academic.

A poem might be defined as thinking about feelings - about human feelings and frailties.

A hobbyhorse can be a tiring ride for nonenthusiasts.

I write, or used to write, to explain to myself situations I couldn't otherwise solve or understand. Meditation comes very naturally to me.

There comes a time when you have to trust your own judgment, when you must close your eyes and let your instinct rule you.

Poets should ignore most criticism and get on with making poetry.

Each word bears its weight, so you have to read my poems quite slowly.

I married a young Englishman in Cambridge in 1955 and have lived in Britain every since.

I am now seventy, rather glad, really, that I won't live to see the horrors to come in the 21st century.

Yes, I do often write poems from the mind, but I hope I don't ignore feelings and emotions.

There's no friend like someone who has known you since you were five.

My soul,
how will I recognize you if we meet?