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“In the province of the mind, what one
believes to be true is true or becomes
true, within certain limits to be found
experientially and experimentally. These
limits are further beliefs to be transcended.
In the mind there are no limits.”
―
believes to be true is true or becomes
true, within certain limits to be found
experientially and experimentally. These
limits are further beliefs to be transcended.
In the mind there are no limits.”
―
“For there is no doubt that the most radical division that it is possible to make of humanity is that which splits it into two classes of creatures: those who make great demands on themselves, piling up difficulties and duties; and those who demand nothing special of themselves, but for whom to live is to be every moment what they already are, without imposing on themselves any effort towards perfection; mere buoys that float on the waves.”
― The Revolt of the Masses
― The Revolt of the Masses
“You know what truly aches? Having so much inside you and not having the slightest clue of how to pour it out.”
― Write like no one is reading
― Write like no one is reading
“CHALLENGES TO YOUNG POETS
Invent a new language anyone can understand.
Climb the Statue of Liberty.
Reach for the unattainable.
Kiss the mirror and write what you see and hear.
Dance with wolves and count the stars, including the unseen.
Be naïve, innocent, non-cynical, as if you had just landed on earth (as indeed you have, as indeed we all have), astonished by what you have fallen upon.
Write living newspaper. Be a reporter from outer space, filing dispatches to some supreme managing editor who believes in full disclosure and has a low tolerance level for hot air.
Write and endless poem about your life on earth or elsewhere.
Read between the lines of human discourse.
Avoid the provincial, go for the universal.
Think subjectively, write objectively.
Think long thoughts in short sentences.
Don't attend poetry workshops, but if you do, don't go the learn "how to" but to learn "what" (What's important to write about).
Don't bow down to critics who have not themselves written great masterpieces.
Resist much, obey less.
Secretly liberate any being you see in a cage.
Write short poems in the voice of birds. Make your lyrics truly lyrical. Birdsong is not made by machines. Give your poem wings to fly to the treetops.
The much-quoted dictum from William Carlos Williams, "No ideas but in things," is OK for prose, but it lays a dead hand on lyricism, since "things" are dead.
Don't contemplate your navel in poetry and think the rest of the world is going to think it's important.
Remember everything, forget nothing.
Work on a frontier, if you can find one.
Go to sea, or work near water, and paddle your own boat.
Associate with thinking poets. They're hard to find.
Cultivate dissidence and critical thinking. "First thought, best thought" may not make for the greatest poetry. First thought may be worst thought.
What's on your mind? What do you have in mind? Open your mouth and stop mumbling.
Don't be so open minded that your brains fall out.
Questions everything and everyone. Be subversive, constantly questioning reality and status quo.
Be a poet, not a huckster. Don't cater, don't pander, especially not to possible audiences, readers, editors, or publishers.
Come out of your closet. It's dark there.
Raise the blinds, throw open your shuttered windows, raise the roof, unscrew the locks from the doors, but don't throw away the screws.
Be committed to something outside yourself. Be militant about it. Or ecstatic.
To be a poet at sixteen is to be sixteen, to be a poet at 40 is to be a poet. Be both.
Wake up and pee, the world's on fire.
Have a nice day.”
― San Francisco Poems
Invent a new language anyone can understand.
Climb the Statue of Liberty.
Reach for the unattainable.
Kiss the mirror and write what you see and hear.
Dance with wolves and count the stars, including the unseen.
Be naïve, innocent, non-cynical, as if you had just landed on earth (as indeed you have, as indeed we all have), astonished by what you have fallen upon.
Write living newspaper. Be a reporter from outer space, filing dispatches to some supreme managing editor who believes in full disclosure and has a low tolerance level for hot air.
Write and endless poem about your life on earth or elsewhere.
Read between the lines of human discourse.
Avoid the provincial, go for the universal.
Think subjectively, write objectively.
Think long thoughts in short sentences.
Don't attend poetry workshops, but if you do, don't go the learn "how to" but to learn "what" (What's important to write about).
Don't bow down to critics who have not themselves written great masterpieces.
Resist much, obey less.
Secretly liberate any being you see in a cage.
Write short poems in the voice of birds. Make your lyrics truly lyrical. Birdsong is not made by machines. Give your poem wings to fly to the treetops.
The much-quoted dictum from William Carlos Williams, "No ideas but in things," is OK for prose, but it lays a dead hand on lyricism, since "things" are dead.
Don't contemplate your navel in poetry and think the rest of the world is going to think it's important.
Remember everything, forget nothing.
Work on a frontier, if you can find one.
Go to sea, or work near water, and paddle your own boat.
Associate with thinking poets. They're hard to find.
Cultivate dissidence and critical thinking. "First thought, best thought" may not make for the greatest poetry. First thought may be worst thought.
What's on your mind? What do you have in mind? Open your mouth and stop mumbling.
Don't be so open minded that your brains fall out.
Questions everything and everyone. Be subversive, constantly questioning reality and status quo.
Be a poet, not a huckster. Don't cater, don't pander, especially not to possible audiences, readers, editors, or publishers.
Come out of your closet. It's dark there.
Raise the blinds, throw open your shuttered windows, raise the roof, unscrew the locks from the doors, but don't throw away the screws.
Be committed to something outside yourself. Be militant about it. Or ecstatic.
To be a poet at sixteen is to be sixteen, to be a poet at 40 is to be a poet. Be both.
Wake up and pee, the world's on fire.
Have a nice day.”
― San Francisco Poems
“In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true, either is true or becomes true within certain limits. These limits are to be found experientially and experimentally. When the limits are determined, it is found that they are further beliefs to be transcended. In the province of the mind, there are no limits. The body imposes definite limits.”
― The Deep Self: Consciousness Exploration in the Isolation Tank
― The Deep Self: Consciousness Exploration in the Isolation Tank
Michael’s 2025 Year in Books
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