Poetry is indispensable – if I only knew what for.
JEAN COCTEAUSuch is the role of poetry. It unveils, in the strict sense of the word. It lays bare, under a light which shakes off torpor, the surprising things which surround us and which our senses record mechanically.
More Jean Cocteau Quotes
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The public is never pleased with what we do, wanting always a copy of what we have done.
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Continue reading Proust. His magnificent intelligence is particularly fond of describing stupidity. Which is ultimately exhausting.
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I only fear the death of others. For me, true death is that of the people I love.
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Mirrors should reflect a little before throwing back images.
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Cultivate everything the critics hated in your first work – that’s what makes you unique.
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The speed of a runaway horse counts for nothing.
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Poetry is a religion without hope. The poet exhausts himself in its service, knowing that, in the long run, a masterpiece is nothing but the performance of a trained dog on very shaky ground.
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I have seafoam in my veins, I understand the language of waves.
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I have not looked at a newspaper in twenty years; if one is brought into the room, I flee. This is not because I am indifferent but because one cannot follow every road.
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When I write, I disturb. When I show a film, I disturb. When I exhibit my painting, I disturb, and I disturb if I don’t. I have a knack for disturbing.
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I’ve always preferred mythology to history. History is truth that becomes an illusion. Mythology is an illusion that becomes reality.
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Whatever the world condemns you for, make it your own. It is yourself.
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The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth.
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Not only should you not accept a prize. You should not try to deserve one either.
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The eyes of the dead are closed gently; we also have to open gently the eyes of the living.
JEAN COCTEAU