At poetry slams, the most striking poem is seldom the one that gets the loudest applause.

Poetry is best performed quietly to an audience of one.

To leave the greats of the past unread is to write in a bubble.

The finest free verse poets know that you must learn the rules before you breakthem.

Imitation is not plagiarism; imitation is practice.

Poetry? Lies, all lies. Isn't it wonderful?

To quote the postman who was befriended by the great Chilean poet Pablo Neruda inthe movie "Il Postino" Poetry does not belong to those who write it, butto those who need it.

If someone doesnt need poetry, bully for them.

The poem is always more important than the poet. Poets biodegrade long before goodpoems do.

A good poem contains the possibility of creating a new image each time you readit.

Averse novel unable to justify its line breaks may qualify as a novel, but it isnot a novel in verse, it is "line break prose," and should not be confused withpoetry.

Reading Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, a children's poet must sometimes feel the wayMaxim Gorky felt after reading Leo Tolstoy, as if he was trying to write with alog.

Nonsense verse is not nonsense, as T.S. Eliot said of Edward Lear’s poetry, but a parodyof sense.

To paraphrase Somerset Maugham, there are three rules for writing humorous verse. Unfortunately,no one knows what they are.

In America, children’s poetry and light verse are relegated to "a cultural demimonde" (Dana Gioia).

Adult poets owe a debt to children's poets who open the door to their eventual readers.

Modernism never clouded the world of children's poets. Did any children's poet ever ask, Do I dare to eat a peach?

Post modernism began with Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky.

Poetry predates books, predates the alphabet. Let it boom into the silence of a room. Alwaysread it aloud, even if you are reading it all alone.

Poets are born, not made, but they are usually not born until sometime after their 30th birthday.

Must you go to the Great Wall of China to write a poem about it? No, reading will take you there. A book is a ticket to ride.

If [poetry] doesn't look easy, to paraphrase Fred Astaire, you aren't working hard enough.

J. Patrick Lewis.

http://jpatricklewis.com/