The most important thing for poets to do is to write as little as possible.

Quote by TS Eliot

Topics: Poets Quotes, Writing Quotes

Webster was much possessed by death / And saw the skull beneath the skin.

Webster was much possessed by death / And saw the skull beneath the skin.

Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante, Had a bad cold, nevertheless Is known to be the wisest...

Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante, Had a bad cold, nevertheless Is known to be the wisest...

Excellence encourages one about life generally; it shows the spiritual wealth of the world.

Excellence encourages one about life generally; it shows the spiritual wealth of the world.

When we read of human beings behaving in certain ways, with the approval of the...

When we read of human beings behaving in certain ways, with the approval of the...

I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

Liberty is a different kind of pain from prison.

Liberty is a different kind of pain from prison.

Any poet, if he is to survive beyond his 25th year, must alter; he must...

Any poet, if he is to survive beyond his 25th year, must alter; he must...

Human kind cannot bear much reality.

Human kind cannot bear much reality.

A tradition without intelligence is not worth having.

A tradition without intelligence is not worth having.

Hell is oneself, Hell is alone, the other figures in it merely projections.

Hell is oneself, Hell is alone, the other figures in it merely projections.

To approach the stranger is to invite the unexpected, release a new force, let the...

To approach the stranger is to invite the unexpected, release a new force, let the...

In the vain laughter of folly, wisdom hears half its applause.

In the vain laughter of folly, wisdom hears half its applause.

Where is the Life we have lost in living?

Where is the Life we have lost in living?

The years between fifty and seventy are the hardest. You are always being asked to...

The years between fifty and seventy are the hardest. You are always being asked to...

We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be...

We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be...

Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.

Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.

The heart and the mind has the shortest distance but has the longest journey.

The heart and the mind has the shortest distance but has the longest journey.

Here undoubtedly lies the chief poetic energy: --in the force of imagination that pierces or...

Here undoubtedly lies the chief poetic energy: --in the force of imagination that pierces or...

Faith and doubt both are needed - not as antagonists, but working side by side...

Faith and doubt both are needed - not as antagonists, but working side by side...

When you doubt, abstain.

When you doubt, abstain.