What would they say if they knew_x000D_ I sit for two months_x000D_ on six lines of poetry?
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the perception of time and effort in creating art, specifically poetry, and the potential judgment from others.
In this quote, Lorine Niedecker contemplates how others might view her artistic process, particularly the seemingly long and solitary period spent creating something that appears small and simple, such as six lines of poetry. It captures the often misunderstood dedication and labor that artists invest in their work, suggesting that the value of art is not always visible or appreciated by those who have not experienced the creative journey.
In practice
During a poetry reading, to emphasize the significance of each crafted line.
I write because to write a new sentence, let alone a new poem, is to cross the threshold into both a larger existence and a profound mystery. A thought was not there, then it is. An image, a story, an idea about what it is to be human, did not exist, then it does. With every new poem, an emotion new to the heart, to the world, speaks itself into being.
I don't resent being a female painter. I don't exploit it. I paint.
In no other sport is the connection between performer and observer so intimate, so frequently painful, so unresolved
Early on, a story's meaning and rationale seem pretty obvious, but then, as I write it, I realize that I know the meaning/rationale too well, which means that the reader will also know it - and so things have to be ramped up.
Language is wine upon the lips.
My feeling is that poetry will wither on the vine if you don't regularly come back to the simplest fundamentals of the poem: rhythm, rhyme, simple subjects - love, death, war.
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