History is one of those marvelous and necessary illusions we have to deal with. It's one of the ways of dealing with our world with impossible generalities which we couldn't live without.
Howard NemerovObvious enough that generalities work to protect the mind from the great outdoors; is it possible that this was in fact their first purpose?
Howard NemerovI never abandoned either forms or freedom. I imagine that most of what could be called free verse is in my first book. I got through that fairly early.
Howard NemerovLanguage is remarkable, except under the extreme constraints of mathematics and logic, it never can talk only about what it's supposed to talk about but is always spreading around.
Howard Nemerov