I can't tell you where a poem comes from, what it is, or what it is for: nor can any other man. The reason I can't tell you is that the purpose of a poem is to go past telling,…

Quote by A R Ammons

Only silence perfects silence.

Only silence perfects silence.

There's something to be said in favor of working in isolation in the real world.

There's something to be said in favor of working in isolation in the real world.

Besides the actual reading in class of many poems, I would suggest you do two...

Besides the actual reading in class of many poems, I would suggest you do two...

That's a wonderful change that's taken place, and so most poetry today is published, if...

That's a wonderful change that's taken place, and so most poetry today is published, if...

I take the walk to be the externalization of an interior seeking so that the...

I take the walk to be the externalization of an interior seeking so that the...

Probably all the attention to poetry results in some value, though the attention is more...

Probably all the attention to poetry results in some value, though the attention is more...

Each poem in becoming generates the laws by which it is generated: extensions of the...

Each poem in becoming generates the laws by which it is generated: extensions of the...

In nature there are few sharp lines.

In nature there are few sharp lines.

I am grateful for - though I can't keep up with - the flood of...

I am grateful for - though I can't keep up with - the flood of...

The poet exposes himself to the risk. All that has been said about poetry, all...

The poet exposes himself to the risk. All that has been said about poetry, all...

Everything is discursive opinion instead of direct experience.

Everything is discursive opinion instead of direct experience.

You have your identity when you find out, not what you can keep your mind...

You have your identity when you find out, not what you can keep your mind...

Definition, rationality, and structure are ways of seeing, but they become prisons when they blank...

Definition, rationality, and structure are ways of seeing, but they become prisons when they blank...

Anything looked at closely becomes wonderful.

Anything looked at closely becomes wonderful.

For though we often need to be restored to the small, concrete, limited, and certain,...

For though we often need to be restored to the small, concrete, limited, and certain,...

Poetry leads us to the unstructured sources of our beings, to the unknown, and returns...

Poetry leads us to the unstructured sources of our beings, to the unknown, and returns...

Even if you walk exactly the same route each time - as with a sonnet...

Even if you walk exactly the same route each time - as with a sonnet...