"I have always wanted what I have now come to call the voice of personal narrative. That has always been the appealing voice in poetry. It started for me lyrically in Shakespeare's sonnets"
- Diane Wakoski
About this Quote
Diane Wakoski is revealing her gratitude for the voice of personal story in poetry. She thinks that this voice has actually constantly been the most attractive in poetry, and it began for her with Shakespeare's sonnets. She is describing the way that Shakespeare's sonnets tell stories of personal experiences and feelings. Wakoski is recommending that this kind of story is what makes poetry so powerful and fascinating. She is likewise emphasizing the value of individual story in poetry, and how it can be used to reveal one's feelings and experiences. By revealing her affection for the voice of personal narrative in poetry, Wakoski is encouraging readers to explore their own stories and feelings through poetry.
"I think Ginsberg has done more harm to the craft that I honor and live by than anybody else by reducing it to a kind of mean that enables the most dubious practitioners to claim they are poets because they think, If the kind of thing Ginsberg does is poetry, I can do that"
"Nothing truly convincing - which would possess thoroughness, vigor, and skill - has been written against the ancients as yet; especially not against their poetry"
"The dance can reveal everything mysterious that is hidden in music, and it has the additional merit of being human and palpable. Dancing is poetry with arms and legs"
"A book is sent out into the world, and there is no way of fully anticipating the responses it will elicit. Consider the responses called forth by the Bible, Homer, Shakespeare - let alone contemporary poetry or a modern novel"