Children frequently sing meaningful phrases to themselves over and over again before they learn to make a distinction between singing and saying.

Quote by David Antin

Topics: David Antin Quotes

For several centuries what has passed for song in literary circles was any text that...

For several centuries what has passed for song in literary circles was any text that...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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

Stories are different every time you tell them - they allow so many possible narratives.

Stories are different every time you tell them - they allow so many possible narratives.

A myth is the name of a terrible lie told by a smelly little brown...

A myth is the name of a terrible lie told by a smelly little brown...

I'm aware of my audience in a way, and I do try to engage with...

I'm aware of my audience in a way, and I do try to engage with...

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

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

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...

I didn't think about whether I was writing poems. I was thinking. And the more...

I didn't think about whether I was writing poems. I was thinking. And the more...

When I got to the reading all the work, I was reduced to being an...

When I got to the reading all the work, I was reduced to being an...

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...

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...

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.

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...