Oct

16

Poetry can have any job

Filed Under Great writers, Inspiration, Poetry, Quotes | 1 Comment

Wallace Stevens had every reason to not be poetic. He went to law school because his dad told him to and then he worked in insurance. Those two lifestyles jostle around in my brain for the distinction of least artistic professions I can imagine (such that it writers often us those as a professional hell to resign their characters to.)

But despite this, he was emerged one of America’s most respected poets.

Stevens would walk two miles to and from his office every day, and in that walk, he would compose poetry. That walking poetry eventually won him a Pulitzer and a National Book Award.

His job wasn’t glamorous, but he felt that going to work grounded him in life making him a better observer.

The genuine artist is never “true to life.” He sees what is real, but not as we are normally aware of it. We do not go storming through life like actors in a play. Art is never real life. - Wallace Stevens

So keep that Stevens in mind when you think about the writers life. You can investigate insurance claims, you can clean auditoriums, or you can do nothing at all, but you will still find something beautiful to write.

We say God and the imagination are one… How high that highest candle lights the dark. – Wallace Stevens