I have been told by a member of the board of one of Canada's most prominent literary magazines that a submission of mine once caused a great deal of controversy.

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...

The experiment of the poem is mostly intuitive. I write the first draft, pulling in...

The experiment of the poem is mostly intuitive. I write the first draft, pulling in...

The reader's challenge is to replicate the experiment by reading the poem and to draw...

The reader's challenge is to replicate the experiment by reading the poem and to draw...

Reading should be a repeat performance.

Reading should be a repeat performance.

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...

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...

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.

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...

The American flag is an enduring symbol of liberty, democracy, and justice. It is fitting...

The American flag is an enduring symbol of liberty, democracy, and justice. It is fitting...

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...

I tell my environmental friends that they have won. Every issue we look at from...

I tell my environmental friends that they have won. Every issue we look at from...

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 feel very connected to poets across the country.

I feel very connected to poets across the country.

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...

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...

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;...

A literary journal is intended to connect writer with reader; the role of the editor...

A literary journal is intended to connect writer with reader; the role of the editor...

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...

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.

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.