Ben Lerner Quotes

Our contempt for any particular poem must be perfect, be total, because only a ruthless reading that allows us to measure the gap between the actual and the virtual will enable to to experience, if not a genuine poem—no such thing—a place for the genuine, whatever that might mean.

Ben Lerner

• Experience
• Reading
• Poem
• Genuine

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Quotes to Explore

• I was raised Catholic in Rockford, Illinois. But I'm not a practicing Catholic anymore. Oh God, no.

  

  Natasha Leggero
  • God
  • Catholic
  • Anymore

• I have odd thumbs that are extremely flexible. I can bend them quite far down the back side of my hand, basically the opposite side you'd even try to attempt bending your thumb. Because of that, I'm a very good thumb wrestler.

  

  Laura Mennell
  • Good
  • Hand
  • Try

• I was a good decathlete until I got with a coach that really knew how to train specifically for the event... I'd really describe it as like being a juggler; you have ten balls and you're trying to get them all in the air at the same time.

  

  Dan O'Brien
  • Time
  • Good
  • Trying

• After I recovered from 'Lioness', I wanted to write something about animals because I really like mythical creatures, especially dragons. At 12, I was one of those semi-recluses who did better with animals than people. Out of that, came the character, Daine, who could communicate with animals.

  

  Tamora Pierce
  • People
  • Character
  • Better

• I'd wanted to be famous for as long as I could remember.

  

  Zach Anner
  • Long
  • Remember
  • Famous

• Like great teams in sports and business endeavors, if there's a chemistry among the participants, and they truly enjoy fellowship together, everybody wants to be there, stay involved, and just have fun together.

  

  Ed Greenwood
  • Great
  • Business
  • Together

• I love the creativity of New York, but I don't enjoy the city - I don't like living here.

  

  Zubin Mehta
  • Love
  • City
  • Creativity

• In my proper character, I am an officer of the United States Army.

  

  Zebulon Pike
  • Character
  • Army
  • United States

• In order for me to be successful... In order to be a great artist - musician, actor, painter, whatever - you must be able to be private in public at all times. That is what we do.

  

  Lady Gaga
  • Great
  • Artist
  • Successful

• For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure.

  

  Zell Miller
  • Great
  • Freedom
  • Security

• What is this world? A mere curl of smoke for the wind to scatter.

  

  Abraham Cahan
  • World
  • Wind
  • Smoke

• I like working in theatre now and I think that once you've done a certain amount of films most actors love working in the theatre because of the camaraderie.

  

  Francesca Annis
  • Love
  • Done
  • Think

• Saving enough to retire has become impossible for most Americans.

  

  Ted Deutch
  • Enough
  • Impossible
  • Most

• Thirteen years I took on this last book.

  

  Gay Talese
  • Book
  • Years
  • Last

• I'm my own artist, and I see artists as movies. No one should try to change them for anything. If you don't like it, you just don't follow it. And if you don't like a movie you don't watch it. Watch another movie.

  

  Anton Zaslavski
  • Movie
  • Change
  • Artist

• Well, I've been acting for 50 years now, professionally. I've been acting a lot longer. My mother reckons I was acting when I got out of the womb. But because I've been working in the theater, I've probably only done about 25 movies but I've done more than 100 plays.

  

  Jacki Weaver
  • Done
  • Mother
  • Acting

• My mother's the youngest of 10 children too, so we have sort of a special bond in that we know what that feels like. It's a strange spot to be in.

  

  Jack White The White Stripes
  • Children
  • Mother
  • Bond

• When I was growing up, there were so many musicals you could watch. I like the fantasy of musicals and I love music.

  

  Queen Latifah
  • Music
  • Like
  • Fantasy

• I put everything I think is sexy into my shoes.

  

  Manolo Blahnik
  • Think
  • Shoes
  • Sexy

• You don't stay married for thirty-nine years because of sex or even because of love, but because your partner is a real friend to you, because they respect and regard you.

  

  Olympia Dukakis
  • Respect
  • Friend
  • Sex

• There is a moral dimension, for me, in anything that's any good.

  

  Twyla Tharp
  • Good
  • Moral

• There are many kinds of conceit, but the chief one is to let people know what a very ancient and gifted family one descends from.

  

  Benvenuto Cellini
  • Family
  • Ancient
  • Chief

• I'm a little bit of a weirdo - I'm kind of a loner, I didn't go to college, I spend a lot of my time reading. I've been working since I was 17, so that's sort of been my life.

  

  Zosia Mamet
  • Life
  • Time
  • Reading

• Our contempt for any particular poem must be perfect, be total, because only a ruthless reading that allows us to measure the gap between the actual and the virtual will enable to to experience, if not a genuine poem—no such thing—a place for the genuine, whatever that might mean.

  

  Ben Lerner
  • Experience
  • Reading
  • Poem