Insofar as poetry has a social function it is to awaken sleepers by other means than shock.
Denise LevertovI'm not very good at praying, but what I experience when I'm writing a poem is close to prayer.
Denise LevertovTeachers at all levels encourage the idea that you have to talk about things in order to understand them, because they wouldn't have jobs, otherwise. But it's phony, you know.
Denise Levertov