"And the second question, can poetry be taught? I didn't think so."

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"And the second question, can poetry be taught? I didn't think so."

Explore more quotes by Norman MacCaig

"When I was a teacher, teachers would come into my classroom and admire my desk on which lay nothing whatever, whereas theirs were heaped with papers and books."

Books, Classroom, Nothing, Teachers

"When I was asked to be Writer in Residence at Edinburgh I thought, you can't teach poetry. This is ridiculous."

Poetry, Thought, Writer

"I don't care whether a book is a first edition or not. I'm not a bibliophile in that word's natural sense."

Care, First, Sense, Word

"However, I learned something. I thought that if the young person, the student, has poetry in him or her, to offer them help is like offering a propeller to a bird."

Poetry, Thought, Help

"But you'd have a job to find many of my poems which would seem to be very influenced by a particular person."

Job, Poems

"But I hang on to books. I love them. I even think they're very nice decor in a room - far better than paintings... That's not quite true!"

Love, Books

"I find it's impossible for me to read Proust."

Reading, Read

Exlpore more Poetry quotes

"I listened, motionless and still; And, as I mounted up the hill, The music in my heart I bore, Long after it was heard no more."

William Wordsworth, English Poet

Poetry, Music, Heart

"With several different kinds of poetry to choose from, a man would decide that he would like best to be an epic poet, and he would set out, in conscious determination, on an epic poem."

Lascelles Abercrombie, British Poet

Poetry, Determination, Man

"Poetry is the work of poets, not of peoples or communities; artistic creation can never be anything but the production of an individual mind."

Lascelles Abercrombie, British Poet

Poetry, Work, Creation, Mind

"If epic poetry is a definite species, the sagas do not fall within it."

Lascelles Abercrombie, British Poet

Poetry,

"That is to say, epic poetry has been invented many times and independently; but, as the needs which prompted the invention have been broadly similar, so the invention itself has been."

Lascelles Abercrombie, British Poet

Poetry, Invention, Needs

"Traditional matter must be glorified, since it would be easier to listen to the re-creation of familiar stories than to quite new and unexpected things; the listeners, we must remember, needed poetry chiefly as the re-creation of tired hours."

Lascelles Abercrombie, British Poet

Poetry,

"Well I guess the plan was to write poetry and publish books and make a living from writing poetry. That was a pretty ambitious plan I guess."

Robert Adamson, Scottish Philosopher

Poetry, Books, Living, Pretty

"Well - I started writing - probably in the early 60s and by say '65-'66 I had read most of the poetry that had been published - certainly in the 20 years prior to that."

Robert Adamson, Scottish Philosopher

Poetry, Writing, Years

"There's one of my new poems actually - is a good example of where my poetry has ended up. My earlier river poetry was more like a cross between Shelley and Dylan Thomas."

Robert Adamson, Scottish Philosopher

Poetry, Example, Poems

"Poetry is a succession of questions which the poet constantly poses."

Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish Poet

Poetry, Questions

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Explore more quotes by Norman MacCaig

"When I was a teacher, teachers would come into my classroom and admire my desk on which lay nothing whatever, whereas theirs were heaped with papers and books."

"When I was asked to be Writer in Residence at Edinburgh I thought, you can't teach poetry. This is ridiculous."

"Well, I'm a light traveller. I chuck things away."

"And it's impossible for me to read Henry James."

"I don't think of myself all the time."

"I don't care whether a book is a first edition or not. I'm not a bibliophile in that word's natural sense."

"However, I learned something. I thought that if the young person, the student, has poetry in him or her, to offer them help is like offering a propeller to a bird."

"But you'd have a job to find many of my poems which would seem to be very influenced by a particular person."

"But I hang on to books. I love them. I even think they're very nice decor in a room - far better than paintings... That's not quite true!"

"I find it's impossible for me to read Proust."

Exlpore more Poetry quotes

"I listened, motionless and still; And, as I mounted up the hill, The music in my heart I bore, Long after it was heard no more."

"With several different kinds of poetry to choose from, a man would decide that he would like best to be an epic poet, and he would set out, in conscious determination, on an epic poem."

"Poetry is the work of poets, not of peoples or communities; artistic creation can never be anything but the production of an individual mind."

"If epic poetry is a definite species, the sagas do not fall within it."

"That is to say, epic poetry has been invented many times and independently; but, as the needs which prompted the invention have been broadly similar, so the invention itself has been."

"Traditional matter must be glorified, since it would be easier to listen to the re-creation of familiar stories than to quite new and unexpected things; the listeners, we must remember, needed poetry chiefly as the re-creation of tired hours."

"Well I guess the plan was to write poetry and publish books and make a living from writing poetry. That was a pretty ambitious plan I guess."

"Well - I started writing - probably in the early 60s and by say '65-'66 I had read most of the poetry that had been published - certainly in the 20 years prior to that."

"There's one of my new poems actually - is a good example of where my poetry has ended up. My earlier river poetry was more like a cross between Shelley and Dylan Thomas."

"Poetry is a succession of questions which the poet constantly poses."