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Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes

Vietnam helped me to look at the horror and terror in the hearts of people and realize how we can’t aim guns and set booby traps for people we have never spoken a word to. That kind of impersonal violence mystifies me Picture Quote #1

I originally wanted to embrace the imagery and forthrightness of rap music. There are some interesting, dynamic voices in rap. But I find most of it irresponsible in its overt violence and commercialization of anger. As artists, we believe we can will action through language. If that’s the case, we have to take responsibility for what we say Picture Quote #1

I close my eyes and can see men drawing lines in the dust. America pushes through the membrane of mist and smoke, and I’m a small boy again in Bogalusa Picture Quote #1

I like what Oliver Lakes does on the saxophone. The saxophone comes pretty close to the sound of the human voice and when Oliver plays with other sax players, it’s like a dialogue Picture Quote #1

I define poetry as celebration and confrontation. When we witness something, are we responsible for what we witness? That’s an on-going existential question. Perhaps we are and perhaps there’s a kind of daring, a kind of necessary energetic questioning. Because often I say it’s not what we know, it’s what we can risk discovering Picture Quote #1

It wasn’t a deliberate decision to become a poet. It was something I found myself doing - and loving. Language became an addiction Picture Quote #1

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Poetry is a process of getting back to the unconscious. Hence, I am always writing-even when I’m not facing the white space. I feel writers are like reservoirs of images. We take in what is around us Picture Quote #1

I think of language as our first music Picture Quote #1

I’m uncomfortable with the focus on the poet and not on the poem Picture Quote #1

I am this space my body believes in Picture Quote #1

I see many black males grasping for some thread of hope. There are so many destructive practices, glimpses into a psychic abyss. That must be very frightening Picture Quote #1

Vietnam helped me to look at the horror and terror in the hearts of people and realize how we can’t aim guns and set booby traps for people we have never spoken a word to. That kind of impersonal violence mystifies me Picture Quote #1

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Poetry helps me understand who I am. It helps me understand the world around me. But above all, what poetry has taught me is the fact that I need to embrace mystery in order to be completely human Picture Quote #1

I think of my poems as personal and public at the same time. You could say they serve as psychological overlays. One fits on top of the other, and hopefully there’s an ongoing evolution of clarity Picture Quote #1

I originally wanted to embrace the imagery and forthrightness of rap music. There are some interesting, dynamic voices in rap. But I find most of it irresponsible in its overt violence and commercialization of anger. As artists, we believe we can will action through language. If that’s the case, we have to take responsibility for what we say Picture Quote #1

I like connecting the abstract to the concrete. There’s a tension in that. I believe the reader or listener should be able to enter the poem as a participant. So I try to get past resolving poems Picture Quote #1

I excavate history. I look at lives buried under too much silence. Periods of time, like slavery, have to be revisited, reimagined, so we can move through them Picture Quote #1

Through the years I have seen myself as a peaceful person, but the awareness of the anger is part of that process Picture Quote #1

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Poets are seen as the caretakers of language, so working with words no matter what the form is what we do Picture Quote #1

Students often have such a lofty idea of what a poem is, and I want them to realize that their own lives are where the poetry comes from. The most important things are to respect the language; to know the classical rules, even if only to break them; and to be prepared to edit, to revise, to shape Picture Quote #1

Whoever said men hit harder when women are around, is right. Word for word, we beat the love out of each other Picture Quote #1

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Vietnam helped me to look at the horror and terror in the hearts of people and realize how we can’t aim guns and set booby traps for people we have never spoken a word to. That kind of impersonal violence mystifies me. (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) I originally wanted to embrace the imagery and forthrightness of rap music. There are some interesting, dynamic voices in rap. But I find most of it irresponsible in its overt violence and commercialization of anger. As artists, we believe we can will action through language. If that’s the case, we have to take responsibility for what we say. (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) I close my eyes and can see men drawing lines in the dust. America pushes through the membrane of mist and smoke, and I’m a small boy again in Bogalusa (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) I like what Oliver Lakes does on the saxophone. The saxophone comes pretty close to the sound of the human voice and when Oliver plays with other sax players, it’s like a dialogue (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) I define poetry as celebration and confrontation. When we witness something, are we responsible for what we witness? That’s an on-going existential question. Perhaps we are and perhaps there’s a kind of daring, a kind of necessary energetic questioning. Because often I say it’s not what we know, it’s what we can risk discovering (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) It wasn’t a deliberate decision to become a poet. It was something I found myself doing - and loving. Language became an addiction (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) Poetry is a process of getting back to the unconscious. Hence, I am always writing-even when I’m not facing the white space. I feel writers are like reservoirs of images. We take in what is around us (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) I think of language as our first music (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) I’m uncomfortable with the focus on the poet and not on the poem (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) I am this space my body believes in (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) I see many black males grasping for some thread of hope. There are so many destructive practices, glimpses into a psychic abyss. That must be very frightening (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) Vietnam helped me to look at the horror and terror in the hearts of people and realize how we can’t aim guns and set booby traps for people we have never spoken a word to. That kind of impersonal violence mystifies me (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) Poetry helps me understand who I am. It helps me understand the world around me. But above all, what poetry has taught me is the fact that I need to embrace mystery in order to be completely human (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) I think of my poems as personal and public at the same time. You could say they serve as psychological overlays. One fits on top of the other, and hopefully there’s an ongoing evolution of clarity (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) I originally wanted to embrace the imagery and forthrightness of rap music. There are some interesting, dynamic voices in rap. But I find most of it irresponsible in its overt violence and commercialization of anger. As artists, we believe we can will action through language. If that’s the case, we have to take responsibility for what we say (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) I like connecting the abstract to the concrete. There’s a tension in that. I believe the reader or listener should be able to enter the poem as a participant. So I try to get past resolving poems (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) I excavate history. I look at lives buried under too much silence. Periods of time, like slavery, have to be revisited, reimagined, so we can move through them (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) Through the years I have seen myself as a peaceful person, but the awareness of the anger is part of that process (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) Poets are seen as the caretakers of language, so working with words no matter what the form is what we do (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) Students often have such a lofty idea of what a poem is, and I want them to realize that their own lives are where the poetry comes from. The most important things are to respect the language; to know the classical rules, even if only to break them; and to be prepared to edit, to revise, to shape (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes) Whoever said men hit harder when women are around, is right. Word for word, we beat the love out of each other (Yusef Komunyakaa Quotes)