Magazines all too often lead to books and should be regarded by the prudent as the heavy petting of literature.
Nature never said to me: Do not be poor. Still less did she say: Be rich. Her cry to me was always: Be independent.
Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.
Art and rebellion will die only with the last person.
Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public; that’s what the poet does.
Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.
Poetry is nobody’s business except the poet’s, and everybody else can fuck off.
We must be fond of the world, even in order to change it.
If enough people think of a thing and work hard enough at it, I guess it’s pretty nearly bound to happen, wind and weather permitting.
Such gardens are not made by singing, “Oh, how beautiful,” and sitting in the shade.
The only tyrant I accept in this world is the “still small voice” within me.
Art interests me very much, but the truth interests me infinitely more.
I think one’s art goes as far and as deep as one’s love goes.
A friend’s son was in the first grade. His teacher asked the class, “What is the color of apples?” Most of the children answered red. A few said green. Kevin, my friend’s son, raised his hand and said white. The teacher tried to explain that apples could be red, green, or sometimes golden, but never white. Kevin was quite insistent and finally said, “Look inside.”
Sometimes it proves the highest understanding not to understand.
There’s a phrase in West Africa called “deep talk.” When a person is informed about a situation, an older person will often use a parable, an axiom, and then add to the end of the axiom, “Take that as deep talk.” Meaning that you will never find the answer. You can continue to go down deeper and deeper.
Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some person ever reads.
I didn’t make myself, and you didn’t make yourself. I didn’t do all those things myself. It was done for me. We don’t choose to draw air into our own lungs. God does it for us. He’s using me for a vessel.
The outward work will never be puny if the inward work is great.
Old hippies don’t die, they just lie low until the laughter stops and their time comes around again.
If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let them see.
Music I heard with you / was more than music, / And bread I broke with you / was more than bread.
