Inspiration from Linda Gregg

Inspiration from Linda Gregg

“After you’ve written the poem, the poem has rights. Pay attention to what the poem says to you.” -Linda Gregg

“The secret that no one knows about old people is that they are angry.” -Linda Gregg

“Be careful with similes. We can let the image speak for itself.” -Linda Gregg

Linda Gregg likes to get the poem on the page all in one move. Jack Gilbert was more strategic. He would walk around all week with them poem in his head and then use strategy when he wrote it.

“If there’s no magic in a poem it’s probably not a poem. Magic changes one thing into something else.” -Linda Gregg

“Take on a large subject. The brain will start to stutter [the mind will get out of the way and the self will rise].” -Linda Gregg

“Messages are not poems. The magic is in the oblique telling. It can’t be done mechanically.” -Linda Gregg

“Writing is like a dreamcatcher: catching what is inside of you and putting it on the page. What does the poem want us to believe?” -Linda Gregg

“Dismount: this is where the poem discovers something, usually at the end. If the poem is good, it knows where and when to end.” -Linda Gregg

“Don’t make the reader do too much guesswork.” -Linda Gregg

“What we need to do is find our poetry and just write it.” -Linda Gregg

“A poem is a boat and it’s only supposed to carry what can fit in one boat. Use economy of language.” -Linda Gregg