"When I was asked to be Writer in Residence at Edinburgh I thought, you can't teach poetry. This is ridiculous"
- Norman MacCaig
About this Quote
Norman MacCaig's quote suggests that he was initially skeptical of the idea of teaching poetry. He implies that poetry is something that can not be taught, however rather something that needs to be knowledgeable and felt. He might have been worried that mentor poetry would be an useless venture, as it is something that is deeply individual and subjective. He might have likewise been fretted that teaching poetry would be too restrictive, as it is a type of expression that is typically available to analysis. Eventually, MacCaig's quote recommends that he was hesitant to accept the position of Writer in Residence at Edinburgh, as he was unsure of how successful he would be in teaching poetry.
This quote is written / told by Norman MacCaig between November 14, 1910 and January 23, 1996. He was a famous Poet from Scotland.
The author also have 31 other quotes.
"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"