I had no idea where these kids at a small private college in the San Fernando Valley were coming from, why they were coming to hear me, or what they needed to know.

Quote by David Antin

Topics: David Antin Quotes

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

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

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...

I tended to emphasize the secular, the casual, the colloquial, the vernacular against the sacred.

I tended to emphasize the secular, the casual, the colloquial, the vernacular against the sacred.

The self is an oral society in which the present is constantly running a dialogue...

The self is an oral society in which the present is constantly running a dialogue...

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.

I'm standing up thinking. Anybody who wants to listen is welcome. If not, I'm happy...

I'm standing up thinking. Anybody who wants to listen is welcome. If not, I'm happy...

I hardly remember how I started to write poetry. It's hard to imagine what I...

I hardly remember how I started to write poetry. It's hard to imagine what I...

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'm not sure what theory is, unless it's the pursuit of fundamental questions.

I'm not sure what theory is, unless it's the pursuit of fundamental questions.

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

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

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...

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...

There are editing procedures for talks just as there are editing procedures in jazz improvisation.

There are editing procedures for talks just as there are editing procedures in jazz improvisation.

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...

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...

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 can manage a prose format as long as I keep closer to Laurence Sterne...

I can manage a prose format as long as I keep closer to Laurence Sterne...

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...

When you grow up in a family of languages, you develop a kind of casual...

When you grow up in a family of languages, you develop a kind of casual...

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...