John Ashbery

"It didn’t pay very much, but it enabled me to get other jobs doing art criticism, which I didn’t want to do very much, but as so often when you exhibit reluctance to do something, people think you mus…"

"When I originally started writing, I expected that probably very few people would read my poetry because in those days people didn’t read poetry much anyway."

"There is the view that poetry should improve your life. I think people confuse it with the Salvation Army."

"Well, there are certain stock words that I have found myself using a great deal. When I become aware of them, it is an alarm signal meaning I am falling back on something that has served in the past—i…"

"Did I say that? One says so many things, and the problem is they all get written down."

"Electronic Poetry Center: John Ashbery - Online Works"