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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-it is a sign of not thinking at the present moment, not that there is anything intrinsically bad about certain words or phrases.
John Ashbery -
The poem is sad because it wants to be yours, and cannot be.
John Ashbery
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There is the view that poetry should improve your life. I think people confuse it with the Salvation Army.
John Ashbery -
In the beginning there are those who don't quite fit inBut are somehow okay. And then some morningThere are places that suddenly seem wonderful:Weather and water seem wonderful,And the peaceful night sky that arrivesIn time to protect us, like a swordCutting the blue cloak of a prince.
John Ashbery -
'Did I say that? One says so many things, and the problem is they all get written down.'
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 must be very good at it. If I had set out to be an art critic, I might never have succeeded.
John Ashbery -
I write with experiences in mind, but I don't write about them, I write out of them.
John Ashbery -
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.
John Ashbery
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I don't look on poetry as closed works. I feel they're going on all the time in my head and I occasionally snip off a length.
John Ashbery -
I like poems you can tack all over with a hammer and there are no hollow places.
John Ashbery -
These two guys in the front yard-Are they here to help?
John Ashbery