"What happens at the beginning of your poem has to—because it’s a poem—be transformed by the end of your poem. So if the triggering moment for the beginning of your poem is a known political moment, I am fine with that, that’s great. But as I’m reading, I expect it to change because that was just the trigger…"

Jericho Brown Literature See all quotes by Jericho Brown →

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“A poem should go beyond what you already know, and if it’s going to go beyond what you already know, a poem might say something that begins to have you question what side you’re on, which, in turn, might begin to have an audience question what side you’re on…”

“A metaphor is a sign of desperation when we need another world to describe what we are feeling. Metaphors are about desperation and safety. We call out to metaphor because a metaphor makes us feel safe.”

“It is the hardest thing to take chaos and make order of it. Poetry is a veil in front of a heart beating at a very fast pace.”

Resonant Thoughts

"I would love to be able to be the one that made peace with Israel and the Palestinians. I would love that, that would be such a great achievement. Because nobody's been able to do it. ... I've had a l…"

— Donald Trump

Politics1945

#philosophy

"It is my purpose nowhere in these remarks to make personal reproaches; I entertain no ill-will toward any human being, nor any brute, that I know of, not even the skunk across the way to which I refer…"

— Thaddeus Stevens

Politics1792–1868

#philosophy

"Evo Morales does not qualify to run for a fourth term. It’s because that we’ve had all this convulsion, and because of this that so many Bolivians have been demonstrating in the streets."

— Jeanine Áñez

Politics1967

#ethics

"...we are a party dedicated to the rule of law and to parliamentary democracy. What the law says, even if we don't like it, is what we have to accept until we can change it by constitutional means. No…"

— Roy Jenkins

Politics1920–2003

#time