"There is no scientific discoverer, no poet, no painter, no musician, who will not tell you that he found ready made his discovery or poem or picture - that it came to him from outside, and that he did not consciously create it from within"
- William Kingdon Clifford
About this Quote
This quote by William Kingdon Clifford speaks to the idea that creativity and discovery are not exclusively the item of one's own conscious effort. Rather, these innovative endeavors are often motivated by something outside of ourselves. This could be an individual, a location, an experience, or even a sensation. It is this external influence that helps to shape and form the imaginative work. Clifford is suggesting that the innovative procedure is not a simply internal one, however rather a combination of both internal and external forces. He is stressing the significance of looking beyond ourselves for motivation and assistance in order to produce something really special and meaningful. By acknowledging the role of external impacts in the imaginative process, we can better comprehend and value the work of those who have actually come prior to us.
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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"