John Ciardi Quotes

It is easy enough to praise men for the courage of their convictions. I wish I could teach the sad young of this mealy generation the courage of their confusions.

A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the hope of greening the landscape of idea.

Poetry lies its way to the truth.

Discovering the context

This quote implies that poetry, through its imaginative and metaphorical language, has the ability to convey truths or deeper insights that may not be easily captured through direct or literal means of expression, suggesting that poetry accesses or reveals truths through its unique use of language and artistic devices.

Every parent is at some time the father of the unreturned prodigal, with nothing to do but keep his house open to hope.

What has any poet to trust more than the feel of the thing? Theory concerns him only until he picks up his pen, and it begins to concern him again as soon as he lays it down.

Love is the word used to label the sexual excitement of the young, the habituation of the middle-aged, and the mutual dependence of the old.

Modern art is what happens when painters stop looking at girls and persuade themselves that they have a better idea.

Intelligence recognizes what has happened. Genius ... -John Ciardi

Intelligence recognizes what has happened. Genius recognizes what will happen.

You don't have to suffer to be a poet; adolescence... -John Ciardi

You don't have to suffer to be a poet; adolescence is enough suffering for anyone.

Discovering the context

This quote humorously suggests that the trials and tribulations of adolescence are sufficient to fuel poetic expression. It implies that the challenges, emotions, and self-discovery associated with the teenage years provide abundant material and inspiration for poetic exploration, without the need for additional suffering or hardships.

John Ciardi Quotes

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