Famous quote by Thom Gunn

Mobile Desktop
I try not to observe myself in the process of composing a poem because I dont want to come up with a formula, which I wo
Like

"I try not to observe myself in the process of composing a poem because I don't want to come up with a formula, which I would then be unscrupulous in using"

- Thom Gunn

About this Quote

Thom Gunn's quote talks to the significance of imagination and originality in the procedure of writing a poem. He recommends that if he were to observe himself while making up a poem, he would be more likely to come up with a formula or pattern that he might then use to produce more poems. This would be an example of being "unscrupulous" in his writing, as he would be counting on a formulaic approach rather than enabling his creativity to flow freely. Gunn's quote highlights the importance of enabling creativity to take the lead in the writing process, rather than counting on a formulaic technique. He thinks that by observing himself while composing, he would be most likely to fall into a pattern of writing that would limit his imagination and creativity. Gunn's quote motivates authors to be open to the imaginative procedure and to permit their ideas to stream freely, rather than relying on a formulaic method.

About the Author

United Kingdom Flag This quote is written / told by Thom Gunn between August 29, 1929 and April 25, 2004. He/she was a famous Poet from United Kingdom. The author also have 27 other quotes.

Go to author profile

Similar Quotes

Small: If you cannot be a poet, be the poem - David Carradine
"If you cannot be a poet, be the poem"
David Carradine, Actor
Small: To read a poem is to hear it with our eyes to hear it is to see it with our ears - Octavio Paz
"To read a poem is to hear it with our eyes; to hear it is to see it with our ears"
Octavio Paz, Poet
Small: I think of my peace paintings as one long poem, with each painting being a single stanza - Robert Indiana
Robert Indiana
"I think of my peace paintings as one long poem, with each painting being a single stanza"
Robert Indiana, Artist
Small: Ive thought of the last line of some poems for years and tried them out, It wouldnt work because the last line
"I've thought of the last line of some poems for years and tried them out, It wouldn't work because the last line was much too beautiful for the poem"
Howard Nemerov, Poet
Small: In a manner of speaking, the poem is its own knower, neither poet nor reader knowing anything that the poem sa
"In a manner of speaking, the poem is its own knower, neither poet nor reader knowing anything that the poem says apart from the words of the poem"
Allen Tate, Poet
Small: Of the individual poems, some are more lyric and some are more descriptive or narrative. Each poem is fixed in
"Of the individual poems, some are more lyric and some are more descriptive or narrative. Each poem is fixed in a moment. All those moments written or read together take on the movement and architecture of a narrative"
Marilyn Hacker, Poet
Small: The heart of the matter seems to me to be the direct interaction between ones making a poem in English and a p
"The heart of the matter seems to me to be the direct interaction between one's making a poem in English and a poem in the language that one understands and values. I don't see how you can do it otherwise"
Robert Fitzgerald, Author
Small: The point of an experiment is not to arrive at a predetermined end point, to prove or disprove anything, but t
"The point of an experiment is not to arrive at a predetermined end point, to prove or disprove anything, but to deliver a poem that reveals much about the process taken"
John Barton, Poet
Small: Our moments of inspiration are not lost though we have no particular poem to show for them for those experienc
Henry David Thoreau
"Our moments of inspiration are not lost though we have no particular poem to show for them; for those experiences have left an indelible impression, and we are ever and anon reminded of them"
Henry David Thoreau, Author
Small: The figure a poem makes. It begins in delight and ends in wisdom... in a clarification of life - not necessari
Robert Frost
"The figure a poem makes. It begins in delight and ends in wisdom... in a clarification of life - not necessarily a great clarification, such as sects and cults are founded on, but in a momentary stay against confusion"
Robert Frost, Poet