The best poems take long journeys. I like poetry best that journeys--while remaining in the human scale--to the other world, which may be a place as easily overlooked as a bee's wing
Robert BlyRead
My feeling is that poetry is also a healing process, and then when a person tries to write poetry with depth or beauty, he will find himself guided along paths which will heal him, and this is more important, actually, than any of the poetry he writes.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Poetry serves as a healing process that guides the writer toward self-discovery and emotional healing.
In this quote, Robert Bly emphasizes the therapeutic nature of writing poetry. He suggests that engaging deeply with poetry not only allows individuals to express themselves artistically but also fosters personal healing and growth. The journey of creating poetry can be more significant than the poems themselves, as it offers a means to navigate one’s inner experiences and emotions.
Themes
PoetryHealingSelf-DiscoveryDepthBeauty
In practice
Example use cases
During a creative writing workshop, this quote can inspire participants to explore their emotions through poetry.
More from Robert Bly
All quotes →As I've gotten older, I find I am able to be nourished more by sorrow and to distinguish it from depression.
Robert BlyRead
I am proud only of those days that pass in undivided tenderness.
Robert BlyRead
Every part of you that you do not love will regress and become hostile towards you.
Robert BlyRead
The door to the soul is unlocked; you do not need to please the doorkeeper, the door in front of you is yours, intended for you, and the doorkeeper obeys when spoken to.
Robert BlyRead
Don't go outside your house to see flowers. My friend, don't bother with that excursion. Inside your body there are flowers. One flower has a thousand petals. That will do for a place to sit. Sitting there you will have a glimpse of beauty inside the body and out of it, before gardens and after gardens.
Robert BlyRead
Similar quotes
Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.
Hannah ArendtRead
I feel that buildings often have a workaday aspect that you see during the daylight hours, and a more resplendent side that emerges after dark.
James TurrellRead
Choreography is writing on your feet.
Bob FosseRead
A folk song is what's wrong and how to fix it or it could be _x000D_ who's hungry and where their mouth is or _x000D_ who's out of work and where the job is or _x000D_ who's broke and where the money is or _x000D_ who's carrying a gun and where the peace is.
Woody GuthrieRead
I offer my performance as prayer for someone I've worked with as an actor or someone who has died. The image that comes into my head as I walk to the stage, I offer that performance up for that person.
Liam NeesonRead
Making words rhyme for a living is one of the great joys of my life... That's a superpower I've been very conscious of developing. I started at the same level as everybody else, and then I just listened to more music and talked to myself until it was an actual superpower I could pull out on special occasions.
Lin-Manuel MirandaRead