I sometimes like to tinker with poems that have failed, ones that I have sent aside. Even years afterward, I will revisit them if there is something about them that I cannot give up on.

Quote by Joe Barton

Topics: Joe Barton Quotes

I feel very connected to poets across the country.

I feel very connected to poets across the country.

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...

An experienced reader uses the poem as an agent of inquiry. This makes poetry very...

An experienced reader uses the poem as an agent of inquiry. This makes poetry very...

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...

Who is the ideal reader? God only knows.

Who is the ideal reader? God only knows.

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...

If poetry alters the way in which the reader views the world, then it has...

If poetry alters the way in which the reader views the world, then it has...

Our flag honors those who have fought to protect it, and is a reminder of...

Our flag honors those who have fought to protect it, and is a reminder of...

No poem is easily grasped; so why should any reader expect fast results?

No poem is easily grasped; so why should any reader expect fast results?

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...

I became intrigued with colour theory. The absurd pronouncements of the Colour Institute, a group...

I became intrigued with colour theory. The absurd pronouncements of the Colour Institute, a group...

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.

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.

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 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...

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...

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.

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...

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...

Poets can't resist the dramatic pull of their lives and so inevitably write autobiographical verse.

Poets can't resist the dramatic pull of their lives and so inevitably write autobiographical verse.