The ancient Greek oral poets all had this anxiety about the deficiencies of their memories and always began poems by praying to the Muse to help them remember.

Quote by David Antin

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For several centuries what has passed for song in literary circles was any text that...

For several centuries what has passed for song in literary circles was any text that...

While I've had a great distaste for what's usually called song in modern poetry or...

While I've had a great distaste for what's usually called song in modern poetry or...

I had no idea where these kids at a small private college in the San...

I had no idea where these kids at a small private college in the San...

I'm aware of my audience in a way, and I do try to engage with...

I'm aware of my audience in a way, and I do try to engage with...

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.

When my mother left her second husband, she wrote her autobiography and presented it to...

When my mother left her second husband, she wrote her autobiography and presented it to...

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.

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...

A myth is the name of a terrible lie told by a smelly little brown...

A myth is the name of a terrible lie told by a smelly little brown...

I reserve the right to tell shaggy dog stories or even common jokes as part...

I reserve the right to tell shaggy dog stories or even common jokes as part...

You pay your money, you take your choice. I get the audience my language attracts...

You pay your money, you take your choice. I get the audience my language attracts...

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...

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 was trying to find out what it was that everybody else understood without giving...

I was trying to find out what it was that everybody else understood without giving...

I learned enough Hebrew to stagger through a meaningless ceremony that I scarcely remember.

I learned enough Hebrew to stagger through a meaningless ceremony that I scarcely remember.

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...

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...

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...

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 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...