James Fenton Quotes

For poets today or in any age, the choice is not between freedom on the one hand and abstruse French forms on the other. The choice is between the nullity and vanity of our first efforts, and the developing of a sense of idiom, form, structure, metre, rhythm, line - all the fundamental characteristics of this verbal art.

James Fenton

Quotes to Explore

I'm a compulsive reader of fiction. I fell in love with novels when I was a teenager. My wife Marilyn and I... our initial friendship began because we are both readers. I've gone to sleep almost every night of my life after having read in a novel for 30 or 40 minutes. I'm a great reader of fiction and much less so of non-fiction.

Irvin D. Yalom
- Life
- Great
- Love
I love a real-life, movie moment in living color.

L'Wren Scott
- Life
- Real
- Movie
Biggie was a lyrical genius: he was a musical painter with words. As he rapped, you would see the picture come to life as you heard his story. You hear a lot of rappers rap; you hear a lot of singers sing, but you don't see the movie in your head the way you do when you hear Biggie rap.

R. Kelly
- Life
- Movie
- Words
Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal.

Igor Stravinsky
- Great
- Art
- Steal
I have a general sense of mission, and I intuitively know when something is influencing that mission. I think this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Doors keep opening. In the end, it's the best use of my skills. I've finally consented to the idea that I'm an artist.

Abigail Washburn
- Best
- Artist
- End
I'm here today because I hated everything else.

Wanda Sykes
- Today
- Everything
- Here