Insofar as poetry has a social function it is to awaken sleepers by other means than shock.
Denise LevertovIn city, in suburb, in forest, no way to stretch out the arms - so if you would grow, go straight up or deep down.
Denise LevertovI believe every space and comma is a living part of the poem and has its function, just as every muscle and pore of the body has its function. And the way the lines are broken is a functioning part essential to the life of the poem.
Denise Levertov