Philip Larkin has a tough honesty and sense of humor that I find irresistible, as a contemporary poet.

Quote by Robert Morgan

Topics: Humor Quotes

Among the American contemporaries I read with most enjoyment are several North Carolinians. I think...

Among the American contemporaries I read with most enjoyment are several North Carolinians. I think...

If a poem is not memorable, there's probably something wrong. One of the problems of...

If a poem is not memorable, there's probably something wrong. One of the problems of...

The young people have MTV and rock and roll. Why would they go to read...

The young people have MTV and rock and roll. Why would they go to read...

Young writers find their first audience in little magazines, and experimental writers find their only...

Young writers find their first audience in little magazines, and experimental writers find their only...

In the best fiction, the language itself can become almost invisible.

In the best fiction, the language itself can become almost invisible.

I seem to keep returning to my father in poems because his personality was so...

I seem to keep returning to my father in poems because his personality was so...

I love chapbooks. They're in some ways the ideal form in which to publish and...

I love chapbooks. They're in some ways the ideal form in which to publish and...

With prose you can incorporate more details, develop scenes, sustain the tension in a special...

With prose you can incorporate more details, develop scenes, sustain the tension in a special...

The idea of avant-garde art is a very suspicious thing to me, the idea that...

The idea of avant-garde art is a very suspicious thing to me, the idea that...

I encourage students to pursue an idea far enough so they can see what the...

I encourage students to pursue an idea far enough so they can see what the...

Poetry, almost by definition, calls attention to its language and form.

Poetry, almost by definition, calls attention to its language and form.

Alchemy is the art of far and near, and I think poetry is alchemy in...

Alchemy is the art of far and near, and I think poetry is alchemy in...

I love to create interesting textures with language. You can do it as long as...

I love to create interesting textures with language. You can do it as long as...

I tell students they will know they are getting somewhere when a scene is so...

I tell students they will know they are getting somewhere when a scene is so...

A lot of my students are Asian-American, and it has been thrilling to watch them...

A lot of my students are Asian-American, and it has been thrilling to watch them...

We have a lot of long narrative poems written in the 20th century, but they're...

We have a lot of long narrative poems written in the 20th century, but they're...

Fiction is about intimacy with characters, events, places.

Fiction is about intimacy with characters, events, places.

Teaching writing over the years intrudes on your own writing in important ways, taking away...

Teaching writing over the years intrudes on your own writing in important ways, taking away...

The best books of our times have included the three mature volumes of Philip Larkin....

The best books of our times have included the three mature volumes of Philip Larkin....

Part of what we love about poetry is the fact that it seems ancient, that...

Part of what we love about poetry is the fact that it seems ancient, that...