Such 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.
JEAN COCTEAUAfter you have written a thing and you reread it, there is always the temptation to fix it up, to improve it, to remove its poison, blunt its sting.
More Jean Cocteau Quotes
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I feel myself inhabited by a force or being — very little known to me. It gives the orders; I follow.
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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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Nothing ever gets anywhere. The earth keeps turning round and gets nowhere. The moment is the only thing that counts.
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My method is simple: not to bother about poetry. It must come of its own accord. Merely whispering its name drives it away.
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A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener scent his roses.
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Not only should you not accept a prize. You should not try to deserve one either.
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Anything of any importance cannot help but be unrecognizable, since it bears no resemblance to anything already known.
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All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects and feelings which motivated it.
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Elegance ceases to exist when it is noticed.
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Do as the beautiful woman: see to your figure and your petticoats. Though, of course, I am not speaking literally.
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Man seeks to escape himself in myth, and does so by any means at his disposal. Drugs, alcohol, or lies. Unable to withdraw into himself, he disguises himself. Lies and inaccuracy give him a few moments of comfort.
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An artist cannot speak about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture.
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We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?
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Children and lunatics cut the Gordian knot which the poet spends his life patiently trying to untie.
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May the devil himself splatter you with dung.
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