not innocent

Great poems are innocent of neither ideas nor technique. But poetry which becomes ideas or techniques has diluted to the danger point the process of poetry. As a poet advances in sophistication and technique, this danger dogs him.

—Josephine Jacobsen, The Instant of Knowing (The Library of Congress lecture, undated pamphlet)

just run

I hate Vachel Lindsay, always have; I don’t even like rhythm, assonance, all that stuff. You just go on your nerve. If someone’s chasing you down the street with a knife you just run, you don’t turn around and shout, "Give it up! I was a track star for Mineola Prep."

—Frank O'Hara, "Personism"

too many tools

Nothing so hampers creativity as having all the right tools.

—James Richardson, Vectors: Aphorisms & Ten-Second Essays (Ausable Press, 2000)