10 Great Quotes About Poets, Poetry, and Writing by Karl Shapiro

~ Paul Szlosek

“The public has an unusual relationship to the poet: It doesn’t even know that he is there.“

“As to the proper length of a poem, there’s no ‘proper length’. It should be complete, should present a whole, rounded idea. But keep in mind that the longer a poem is, the tougher it is to write and the harder it is to hold the reader’s interest.”

“Poetry is innocent, not wise. It does not learn from experience, because each poetic experience is unique.”

“Poetry is not a way of saying things; it’s a way of seeing things.”

“Poets of course are even more unpredictable than other writers, overwhelmed as they are by the moment they inhabit and finding it difficult to connect yesterday with tomorrow.”

“Contemporary poetry or the kind a ‘long-hair’ might write is highly abstract and unnecessarily obscure. Those who write the stuff depend on ideas and tricks of language to such an extent that it is often impossible to extract any meaning from their poems.”

“The good poet sticks to his real loves, to see within the realm of possibility. He never tries to hold hands with God or the human race.”

“To write a good poem, the writer should feel pretty damn strongly on the point he’s trying to express. Give it everything, but use your own speech, your own idiom. This gives the piece individuality and strength.”

“Brevity, in poetry, as in the time a guy has to spend getting shot at, is very desirable.”

“A poem should make easy reading for the ordinary guy who doesn’t happen to be a brain trust. The reader should understand the piece and get enjoyment out of it. Otherwise, the poem would be better unwritten.”

—Karl Shapiro

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Published by Paul Szlosek

Paul Szlosek was born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, but currently resides in the nearby metropolis of Worcester. He was co-founder and host of the long-running Poet’s Parlor poetry reading in Southbridge and Sturbridge, as well as a past recipient of the Jacob Knight Award for Poetry. His poems have appeared in various local publications including the Worcester Review, Worcester Magazine, Sahara, Concrete Wolf, and Diner. He’s probably best known in the Worcester poetry community for his fanatical obsession with obscure poetry forms, and has invented his own including the ziggurat, the streetbeatina, and (most recently) the hodgenelle.

15 thoughts on “10 Great Quotes About Poets, Poetry, and Writing by Karl Shapiro”

  1. This is the quote that most resonates with me:

    “Contemporary poetry or the kind a ‘long-hair’ might write is highly abstract and unnecessarily obscure. Those who write the stuff depend on ideas and tricks of language to such an extent that it is often impossible to extract any meaning from their poems.”

    If you need to write about abstractions, why not write an essay? That’s what essays are for.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. I totally agree, Liz. That quote was taken from an interview that Shapiro gave when he was a private in the army during World War II. So was the quote about brevity in poetry, which explains the bit about “the time a guy has to spend getting shot at” that might seem an odd thing to say if taken out of context…

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. You are very welcome, Brad and thank you! Karl Shapiro is a poet I discovered a few years when I found a paperback of his collected poems. I really enioyed his work very much (especially a poem about manhole covers hence why I chose that particular photo) and wanted to include him in this series but couldn’t find enough quotes by him until I found an interview online from early in his career when he was private in the army during World War II.

      Liked by 1 person

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