Great Throughts Treasury

"A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape and significance of the universe, helps to extend everyone's knowledge of himself and the world around him."

"Go on thinking that you don't need to be read and you'll find that it may become quite true: no one will feel the need to read it because it is written for yourself alone; and the public won't feel any impulse to gate crash such a private party. "

"He who seeks rest finds boredom. He who seeks work finds rest. "

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light. "

"The best craftsmanship always leaves holes and gaps… so that something that is not in the poem can creep, crawl, flash, or thunder in."

"The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it."