Anne Stevenson

I never wanted to be a pop star. ”

When everything is for 'fun' nothing is for the good. ”

There is far too much literary criticism of the wrong kind. That is why I never could have survived as an academic. ”

I think a poet, like a painter, should be a craftsperson. ”

Poets these days, like artists and composers, have won for themselves almost unlimited freedom. You can pass yourself off as a painter without being able to draw, as a composer without being conscious of key relationships, and as a poet without making yourself familiar with traditional verse forms. ”

I did know Ted Hughes and I partly wrote the book to explain to myself and others the complexities of a marriage that was for six years wonderfully productive of poetry and then ended in tragedy. ”

Have you ever heard of a pianist who never had to practice - or of an architect who didn't bother to find out why buildings stand up? ”

Looking back at it now, any objective account of my life is bound to read like a cross between 'The Wife of Bath's Tale' and a travel brochure. ”

I'm not really quiet or shy. Ask any of my friends! But I always ground my poetry in life itself. Poetry is an art of language, though, so I am always aware of every word's meaning, or multiple meanings. ”

I have always made my own rules, in poetry as in life - though I have tried of late to cooperate more with my family. I do, however, believe that without order or pattern poetry is useless. ”