Anthony Hecht Quotes

United States, Poet
January 16, 1923 – October, 20, 2004.

Anthony Evan Hecht (January 16, 1923 – October 20, 2004) was an American poet. His work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history, with the Second World War, in which he fought, and the Holocaust being recurrent themes in his work.

Poetry operates by hints and dark suggestions. It is full of secrets and hidden formulae, like a witch's brew.

Anthony Hecht
- Dark
- Poetry
- Witch
Mysteries, like the Masonic rites, are ones parents and elders are sworn not to reveal to the uninitiated, which include all children. And so we sought for signs.

Anthony Hecht
- Children
- Parents

It doesn't seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.

Anthony Hecht
- Children
Children know from a remarkably early age that things are being kept from them, that grown-ups participate in a world of mysteries.

Anthony Hecht
- World
- Children
- Age
A lot of the fun lies in trying to penetrate the mystery; and this is best done by saying over the lines to yourself again and again, till they pass through the stage of sounding like nonsense, and finally return to a full sense that had at first escaped notice.

Anthony Hecht
- Trying
- Done
- Fun
There's not a good poet I know who has not at the beck and call of his memory a vast quantity of poetry that composes his mental library.

Anthony Hecht
- Good
- Poetry
- Library