As poets we do not ask permission before we begin to practi… - James Fenton

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As poets we do not ask permission before we begin to practise, for there is no authority to license us. We do not inquire whether it is still possible to pen a drama, for the answer to that question is ours alone to give. It is our drama, spoken or sung, that asserts our right to the title of poet. It is our decision that counts, and not the opinion of some theatre management, or the ponderings of the critic, or even the advice of our friendliest mentors.

James Fenton

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About James Fenton

James Martin Fenton (born 25 April 1949) is an English poet, journalist and literary critic. Like his mentor, W. H. Auden, he has been Professor of Poetry at Oxford.

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Alternative Names: James M. Fenton • James Martin Fenton

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Originators like James Fenton:

John Hollander Randall Jarrell Muriel Rukeyser Herbert Edward Read Dennis O'Driscoll

Additional quotes by James Fenton

It is not what they built. It is what they knocked down.
It is not the houses. It is the spaces between the houses.
It is not the streets that exist. It is the streets that no longer exist.

The writing of a poem is like a child throwing stones into a mineshaft. You compose first, then you listen for the reverberation.

Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse is a crash course in villanelles, sestinas and other such fixed forms. But most...are rare in English poetry. Few poets have written a villanelle worth reading, or indeed regret not having done so.

As poets we do not ask permission before we begin to practise, for there is no authority to license us. We do not inquire whether it is still possibl… - James Fenton

About James Fenton

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Additional quotes by James Fenton