Denise Levertov
Denise Levertov
Denise Levertovwas a British-born American poet...
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth24 October 1923
imagination mediocrity capacity
Mediocrity is perhaps due not so much to lack of imagination as to lack of faith in the imagination, lack of the capacity for this abandon.
august breathe sweetness
breathe the sweetness that hovers in August ...
pain white knowing
Death and pain dominate this world, for though many are cured, they leave still weak, still tremulous, still knowing mortality has whispered to them; have seen in the folding of white bedspreads according to rule the starched pleats of a shroud.
book thinking effectiveness
I don't think one can accurately measure the historical effectiveness of a poem; but one does know, of course, that books influence individuals; and individuals, although they are part of large economic and social processes, influence history. Every mass is after all made up of millions of individuals.
lying found repose
I like to find what's not found at once, but lies within something of another nature, in repose, distinct.
taken light poetry
We have the words in our pockets, obscure directions. The old ones have taken away the light of their presence....
artistic-life artistic process
It is fatal to one's artistic life to talk about something this is in process.
cities growth arms
In city, in suburb, in forest, no way to stretch out the arms - so if you would grow, go straight up or deep down.
art artist born
The artist must create himself or be born again.
june growing want
In June the bush we call alder was heavy, listless, its leaves studded with galls, growing wherever we didn't want it.
world taste enough
The world is not with us enough. O taste and see.
heart eye dark
In the dark I rest, unready for the light which dawns day after day, eager to be shared. Black silk, shelter me. I need more of the night before I open eyes and heart to illumination. I must still grow in the dark like a root not ready, not ready at all.
art imagination venture
Both art and faith are dependent on imagination; both are ventures into the unknown.
prayer writing praying
I'm not very good at praying, but what I experience when I'm writing a poem is close to prayer.