Poetry is a process of getting back to the unconscious. Hence, I am always writing-even when I'm not facing the white space. I feel writers are like reservoirs of images. We take in what is around us.
Interpretation
Poetry taps into our unconscious thoughts and feelings, allowing us to express what we observe around us even when not actively writing.
In this quote, Yusef Komunyakaa emphasizes the idea that poetry is not just a conscious act of writing but a deeper process of connecting with the unconscious mind. He likens writers to reservoirs, collecting experiences and images from their surroundings, which enrich their creative process, suggesting that inspiration is constantly flowing, even in times of inactivity.
In practice
This quote can be shared in a poetry workshop to inspire budding poets.
Students often have such a lofty idea of what a poem is, and I want them to realize that their own lives are where the poetry comes from. The most important things are to respect the language; to know the classical rules, even if only to break them; and to be prepared to edit, to revise, to shape.
It wasn't a deliberate decision to become a poet. It was something I found myself doing - and loving. Language became an addiction.
We have to embrace the good over the bad. That has to be one's personal project.
I originally wanted to embrace the imagery and forthrightness of rap music. There are some interesting, dynamic voices in rap. But I find most of it irresponsible in its overt violence and commercialization of anger. As artists, we believe we can will action through language. If that's the case, we have to take responsibility for what we say.
I'm uncomfortable with the focus on the poet and not on the poem.
Poetry helps me understand who I am. It helps me understand the world around me. But above all, what poetry has taught me is the fact that I need to embrace mystery in order to be completely human.
Literature is like any other trade; you will never sell anything unless you go to the right shop.
I wanted to be in a punk band before I had even heard any punk music.
One has a nose. The nose scents and it chooses. An artist is simply a kind of pig snouting truffles.
To seek out beauty in our work is to make a pilgrimage of our labors, to understand that the consummation of work lies not only in what we have done, but who we have become while accomplishing the task.
All the writing elements are the same. You need to tell a good story... You've got good characters... People think there's some dramatic difference between writing 'Little Bear' and the 'Hunger Games,' and as a writer, for me, there isn't.
I could paint for a hundred years, a thousand years without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing.
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