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.
JEAN COCTEAUWhen 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.
More Jean Cocteau Quotes
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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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The poet, by composing poems, uses a language that is neither dead nor living, that few people speak, and few people understand We are the servants of an unknown force that lives within us, manipulates us, and dictates this language to us.
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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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We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?
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One of the characteristics of the dream is that nothing surprises us in it. With no regret, we agree to live in it with strangers, completely cut off from our habits and friends.
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I know that poetry is indispensable, but to what I could not say.
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When a work appears to be ahead of its time, it is only the time that is behind the work.
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Whatever the world condemns you for, make it your own. It is yourself.
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It is excruciating to be an unbeliever with a spirit that is deeply religious.
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May the devil himself splatter you with dung.
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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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If it has to choose who is to be crucified, the crowd will always save Barabbas.
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Poetry, being elegance itself, cannot hope to achieve visibility… It insists on living its own life.
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Style is a simple way of saying complicated things.
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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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