For several centuries what has passed for song in literary circles was any text that looked like the lyrics for a commonplace melodic setting.

Quote by David Antin

Topics: David Antin Quotes

My rejection of the idea of entertainment in its current form is based on the...

My rejection of the idea of entertainment in its current form is based on the...

There is probably no oral society that fails to mark the spatial distinction of left...

There is probably no oral society that fails to mark the spatial distinction of left...

Disney made a fortune out of inventing the businessman's idea of the imaginary as the...

Disney made a fortune out of inventing the businessman's idea of the imaginary as the...

I was trying to find out what it was that everybody else understood without giving...

I was trying to find out what it was that everybody else understood without giving...

I reserve the right to tell shaggy dog stories or even common jokes as part...

I reserve the right to tell shaggy dog stories or even common jokes as part...

I am quite unsatisfied by the distinctions between the oral and literate.

I am quite unsatisfied by the distinctions between the oral and literate.

I was very committed to the process of composing, working at poems, putting things together...

I was very committed to the process of composing, working at poems, putting things together...

I wanted to be an inventor, whatever I thought that meant then. I guess I...

I wanted to be an inventor, whatever I thought that meant then. I guess I...

While I've had a great distaste for what's usually called song in modern poetry or...

While I've had a great distaste for what's usually called song in modern poetry or...

My way of thinking is very particular and concrete. It doesn't follow a continuous path.

My way of thinking is very particular and concrete. It doesn't follow a continuous path.

When my mother left her second husband, she wrote her autobiography and presented it to...

When my mother left her second husband, she wrote her autobiography and presented it to...

While I don't script and I don't use other performers, I think my taste for...

While I don't script and I don't use other performers, I think my taste for...

Children frequently sing meaningful phrases to themselves over and over again before they learn to...

Children frequently sing meaningful phrases to themselves over and over again before they learn to...

I've always had a strong feeling for the Statue of Liberty, because it became the...

I've always had a strong feeling for the Statue of Liberty, because it became the...

I had no idea where these kids at a small private college in the San...

I had no idea where these kids at a small private college in the San...

You pay your money, you take your choice. I get the audience my language attracts...

You pay your money, you take your choice. I get the audience my language attracts...

From this entertainment industry, may the gods of language protect us.

From this entertainment industry, may the gods of language protect us.

The ancient Greek oral poets all had this anxiety about the deficiencies of their memories...

The ancient Greek oral poets all had this anxiety about the deficiencies of their memories...

My mother turned into a professional widow. She couldn't understand why I wanted to be...

My mother turned into a professional widow. She couldn't understand why I wanted to be...

It's hard being a hostage in somebody else's mouth - or a character in somebody...

It's hard being a hostage in somebody else's mouth - or a character in somebody...