Sunday, December 23, 2012

Thought for the Day

Every writer needs a fireplace. On publication day, an author should
burn a copy of his book, to acknowledge that what he accomplished
is negligible compared to what he imagined and intended. . . .
~ Adam Kirsch, "Rocket and Lightship"
in Commentary, Poetry, November 2012

___________________________

Adam Kirsch, Senior Editor, The New Republic, Columnist, Tablet; Author, Why Trilling Matters (Yale University Press, 2011), Invasions: New Poems (Ivan R. Dee, 2008), The Thousand Wells: Poems (Ivan R. Dee, 2002), and Benjamin Disraeli (Nextbook Press, 2008). Kirsch has also written several nonfiction books about poetry: The Modern Element: Essays on Contemporary Poetry (W.W. Norton, 2008) and The Wounded Surgeon: Confession and Transformation in Six American Poets (W.W. Norton, 2005).

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

...and every artist, a kiln.

S. Etole said...

My first thought is "ouch!"

Christmas blessings to you, Maureen.