I don't like poetry that just slaps violent words on a canvas, as it were.

Quote by Anne Stevenson

Topics: Anne Stevenson Quotes

Each word bears its weight, so you have to read my poems quite slowly.

Each word bears its weight, so you have to read my poems quite slowly.

Yes, I do often write poems from the mind, but I hope I don't ignore...

Yes, I do often write poems from the mind, but I hope I don't ignore...

There is far too much literary criticism of the wrong kind. That is why I...

There is far too much literary criticism of the wrong kind. That is why I...

Peter Lucas and I live in Durham but spend a great of time in North...

Peter Lucas and I live in Durham but spend a great of time in North...

I like rhyme because it is memorable, I like form because having to work to...

I like rhyme because it is memorable, I like form because having to work to...

Poets should ignore most criticism and get on with making poetry.

Poets should ignore most criticism and get on with making poetry.

I married a young Englishman in Cambridge in 1955 and have lived in Britain every...

I married a young Englishman in Cambridge in 1955 and have lived in Britain every...

I play with language a great deal in my poems, and I enjoy that. I...

I play with language a great deal in my poems, and I enjoy that. I...

When everything is for 'fun' nothing is for the good.

When everything is for 'fun' nothing is for the good.

I write, or used to write, to explain to myself situations I couldn't otherwise solve...

I write, or used to write, to explain to myself situations I couldn't otherwise solve...

I am now seventy, rather glad, really, that I won't live to see the horrors...

I am now seventy, rather glad, really, that I won't live to see the horrors...

Blake has always been a favorite, the lyrics, not so much the prophetic books, but...

Blake has always been a favorite, the lyrics, not so much the prophetic books, but...

I did know Ted Hughes and I partly wrote the book to explain to myself...

I did know Ted Hughes and I partly wrote the book to explain to myself...

I think a poet, like a painter, should be a craftsperson.

I think a poet, like a painter, should be a craftsperson.

The sea is as near as we come to another world.

The sea is as near as we come to another world.

I have always made my own rules, in poetry as in life - though I...

I have always made my own rules, in poetry as in life - though I...

My earlier poems were sadder than my poems are today, perhaps because I wrote them...

My earlier poems were sadder than my poems are today, perhaps because I wrote them...

I remain loyal to Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert in music and to Shakespeare and...

I remain loyal to Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert in music and to Shakespeare and...

I work very hard on all my poems, but most of the work consists of...

I work very hard on all my poems, but most of the work consists of...

Sylvia Plath was just a month and a half older than I, and when she...

Sylvia Plath was just a month and a half older than I, and when she...