Great poetry is always written by somebody straining to go beyond what he can do.

Cult: simply an extension of the idea that everyone's supreme aim in life is self- fulfillment and happiness and that one is entitled to wreck marriage, children and certainly one's health and sanity in pursuit of this.

The greatest of all human delusions is that there is a tangible goal, and not just direction towards an ideal aim. The idea that a goal can be attained perpetually frustrates human beings, who are disappointed at never getting there, never being able to stop.

An English poet writes, I think, just for people who are interested in poetry. An American poet writes, and feels that everyone ought to appreciate this. Then he has a deep sense of grievance . . .

If Rilke cut himself shaving, he would bleed poetry.

So i learned both to accept myself and to aim beyond myself

There is a certain justice in criticism. The critic is like a midwife - a tyrannical midwife.