A poet's autobiography is his poetry. Anything else is just a footnote. Yevgeny Yevtushenko
Poetry is ordinary language raised to the Nth power. Poetry is boned with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions, all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words. Paul Engle
A poet looks at the world the way a man looks at a woman. Wallace Stevens
The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth. Jean Cocteau
No poem is easily grasped so why should any reader expect fast results? John Barton
Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be inadvisable to draw it out... Perfect understanding will sometimes almost extinguish pleasure. A. E. Housman