It is the timber of poetry that wears most surely, and there is no timber that has not strong roots among the clay and worms. – John Millington Synge
I was a visual artist primarily and a writer, even from a very young age. I wrote a lot of stories and poetry and… I had a desire to create always. And I always had a desire to show my work. – P. J. Harvey
There is an urgent need for Americans to look deeply into themselves and their actions, and musical poetry is perhaps the most effective mirror available. Every newspaper headline is a potential song. – Phil Ochs
When I really want to be soothed and reminded of why people bother to fiddle with sentences, I often read poetry. – Nicholson Baker
So I really began as a failed poet – although when I first wanted to be a writer, I learned to write prose by reading poetry. – Nicholson Baker
I like the way words go together and I like the gamesmanship of writing poetry. It is such a challenge. – Jeffery Deaver
I guess the two Manifesto, Communicating Vessels, Mad Love, and some of his poetry made a significant mark on me but as far as bringing a literary element into the music I see it as a much broader assimilation. – Trevor Dunn
Even if you only want to write science fiction, you should also read mysteries, poetry, mainstream literature, history, biography, philosophy, and science. – Walter Jon Williams
Poetry and prayer are very similar. – Carol Ann Duffy
Auden said poetry makes nothing happen. But I wonder if the opposite could be true. It could make something happen. – Carol Ann Duffy
I think poetry can help children deal with the other subjects on the curriculum by enabling them to see a subject in a new way. – Carol Ann Duffy
I was always making up rhymes. But I never thought that poetry would become my life. – Saul Williams
More people than ever are slowly but surely turning their ears toward poetry. – Saul Williams
Science and art, or by the same token, poetry and prose differ from one another like a journey and an excursion. The purpose of the journey is its goal, the purpose of an excursion is the process. – Franz Grillparzer
Prose talks and poetry sings. – Franz Grillparzer
And my father was a comic. He could play any musical instrument. He loved to perform. He was a wonderfully comedic character. He had the ability to dance and sing and charm and analyze poetry. – Lynn Johnston
Reading a piece of poetry with no beat in front of 20 people is way more challenging than rocking for 10,000 people. – Macklemore
The first function of poetry is to tell the truth, to learn how to do that, to find out what you really feel and what you really think. – June Jordan
So, poetry becomes a means for useful dialogue between people who are not only unknown, but mute to each other. It produces a dialogue among people that guards all of us against manipulation by our so-called leaders. – June Jordan
Naming a baby is an act of poetry, for many people the only creative moment of their lives. – Richard Eyre
