Poets can't resist the dramatic pull of their lives and so inevitably write autobiographical verse.

Quote by Joe Barton

Topics: Joe Barton Quotes

The community of poets I belong to is not as close as it used to...

The community of poets I belong to is not as close as it used to...

We are comfortable with the fact that we cannot know personally what happened in the...

We are comfortable with the fact that we cannot know personally what happened in the...

I find it exhausting to administer a magazine without an office or paid staff.

I find it exhausting to administer a magazine without an office or paid staff.

To me many short poems read and write like beginnings that simply whet my appetite;...

To me many short poems read and write like beginnings that simply whet my appetite;...

Sometimes poetry is inspired by the conversation entered into by reading other poems.

Sometimes poetry is inspired by the conversation entered into by reading other poems.

Poets have to be sensitive to their audience, but it does not mean that they...

Poets have to be sensitive to their audience, but it does not mean that they...

My obsession with time informs my poetry so completely it is hard for me to...

My obsession with time informs my poetry so completely it is hard for me to...

The poet must decide not to impose his feelings in order to write without sentimentality.

The poet must decide not to impose his feelings in order to write without sentimentality.

The point of an experiment is not to arrive at a predetermined end point, to...

The point of an experiment is not to arrive at a predetermined end point, to...

In the past, poetry came in the form of spells and chants used to effect...

In the past, poetry came in the form of spells and chants used to effect...

Some readers allow their prejudices to blind them. A good reader knows how to disregard...

Some readers allow their prejudices to blind them. A good reader knows how to disregard...

You can never step into the same book twice, because you are different each time...

You can never step into the same book twice, because you are different each time...

I consider a poem to be a kind of experiment where a number of elements...

I consider a poem to be a kind of experiment where a number of elements...

I have always been very obsessed with time. Time's passage makes us all very vulnerable...

I have always been very obsessed with time. Time's passage makes us all very vulnerable...

Writing can sometimes be exploitative. I like to take a few steps of remove in...

Writing can sometimes be exploitative. I like to take a few steps of remove in...

I feel very connected to poets across the country.

I feel very connected to poets across the country.

I sometimes like to tinker with poems that have failed, ones that I have sent...

I sometimes like to tinker with poems that have failed, ones that I have sent...

An experienced reader uses the poem as an agent of inquiry. This makes poetry very...

An experienced reader uses the poem as an agent of inquiry. This makes poetry very...

Most victims of my autobiographical verse are either far too polite, remarkably understanding unaware that...

Most victims of my autobiographical verse are either far too polite, remarkably understanding unaware that...

I would not say I chose to write long poems on a conscious level. The...

I would not say I chose to write long poems on a conscious level. The...