It is undeniable that the exercise of a creative
power, that of a free creative activity, is the
true function of man; it is proved to be so by
man's finding in it his true happiness
-Matthew Arnold, "The Function of Criticism"
"For all good poets...compose their lyrics not by art, but because they are
inspired and possessed." -Plato, Ion
"During the hour of perusal the soul of the reader
is at the writer's control...And by such means,
with such care and skill, a picture is at length
painted which leaves in the mind of him who
contemplates it with a kindred art, a sense
of the fullest satisfaction."
-Edgar Allen Poe, upon review of Twice-Told Tales
"...a writer should seize upon small details, arranging them so that the reader will see an image in his mind after he closes his eye." -Anton Chekhov, in a letter to his brother
"We need to know the writing of the past,
and know it differently than we have ever
known it; not to pass on a tradition but
to break its hold over us."
-Adrienne Rich, "When We Dead Awaken..."
Imagination creates an image, point by point, piece by piece, segment by segment-into a whole, living."
-William Carlos Williams, "Speech Rhythm"
"I believe that man will not merely endure; he will prevail.
He is immortal, not because he alone has an inexhaustible
voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion
and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's duty is to
write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure
by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor
and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice
which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need
not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the
pillars to help him endure and prevail."
-William Faulkner, in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize for Literature