Mark Van Doren Quotes | Beyond Motive

Mark Van Doren was an esteemed American poet, critic, and educator known for his erudition and literary insight. As a professor at Columbia University and a prolific writer, Van Doren influenced generations of students and readers with his scholarly work and poetic sensibility. His poetry, characterized by its clarity and precision, reflects a deep engagement with the human experience and a profound appreciation for the power of language.

"Wit is the only wall between us and the dark."

Humor, Wit

"To fail to love is not to exist at all."

Love,

"The job of the poet is to render the world - to see it and report it without loss, without perversion. No poet ever talks about feelings. Only sentimental people do."

People, Feelings, Job, Loss

"When it aims to express a love of the world it refuses to conceal the many reasons why the world is hard to love, though we must love it because we have no other, and to fail to love it is not to exist at all."

Love, World