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Marianne Moore (November 15, 1887 – February 5, 1972 / Kirkwood, Missouri)
Quotations
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''Victory won't come
Marianne Moore (1887-1972), U.S. poet. Nevertheless (l. 21-25). . . The Complete Poems of Marianne Moore. (1981) Penguin Books.
to me unless I go
to it; a grape tendril
ties a knot in knots till
knotted thirty times,—''
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''O to be a dragon
Marianne Moore (1887-1972), U.S. poet. "O To Be a Dragon," O To Be a Dragon (1959).
a symbol of the power of Heaven—of silkworm
size or immense; at times invisible. Felicitous phenomenon!''
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''the small tuft of fronds or katydid legs above each eye, still
Marianne Moore (1887-1972), U.S. poet. Peter (l. 3-4). . . The Complete Poems of Marianne Moore. (1981) Penguin Books.
numbering the units in each group;
the shadbones regularly set about the mouth, to droop or rise''
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''I, too, dislike it: there are things that are important beyond all
Marianne Moore (1887-1972), U.S. poet. Poetry (l. 1). . . Oxford Book of American Verse, The. F. O. Matthiessen, ed. (1950) Oxford University Press.
this fiddle.''
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''the raw material of poetry in
Marianne Moore (1887-1972), U.S. poet. Poetry (l. 25-28). . . Oxford Book of American Verse, The. F. O. Matthiessen, ed. (1950) Oxford University Press.
all its rawness and
that which is on the other hand
genuine, you are interested in poetry.''
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''the immovable critic twitching his skin like a horse that feels a
Marianne Moore (1887-1972), U.S. poet. Poetry (l. 13). . . Oxford Book of American Verse, The. F. O. Matthiessen, ed. (1950) Oxford University Press.
flea,''
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''nor till the poets among us can be "literalists of the imagination"Mabove insolence and triviality and can present
Marianne Moore (1887-1972), U.S. poet. "Poetry," Selected Poems (1935).
for inspection, "imaginary gardens with real toads in them," shall we have
it.''
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''nor till the poets among us can be
Marianne Moore (1887-1972), U.S. poet. Poetry (l. 20-24). . . Oxford Book of American Verse, The. F. O. Matthiessen, ed. (1950) Oxford University Press.
literalists of
the imagination—above
insolence and triviality and can present
for inspection, 'imaginary gardens with real toads in them',
shall we have''
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''I see no reason for calling my work poetry except that there is no other category in which to put it.''
Marianne Moore (1887-1972), U.S. poet. Quoted in New York Mirror (May 31, 1959). On accepting the National Book Award for poetry.
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''The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence;
Marianne Moore (1887-1972), U.S. poet. "Silence," Selected Poems (1935).
not in silence, but restraint.''
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