on quotes about writing…
I’m of two minds when it comes to quotes. On the one hand, we learn about writing from other writers; when someone says something that really lands for me or nails a point so eloquently and precisely, I find myself wanting to write it down or even commit it to memory.
On the other hand, I want to be the one who writes things so precisely and eloquently that everyone else wants to commit to memory.
The quotations collected here are not rules or formulas; they’re reminders and lessons about craft and invitations to think more deeply about the experience of writing and reading.
emily dickinson
on the physical experience of poetry
“If I read a book [and] it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only way I know. Is there any other way?”
gary provost
on the musical of sentence variation
“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important.”