worked through the terrors of influence, and are willing to acknowledge their debts by using them in order to go their own way

“Poets who remain poets have, presumably, worked through the terrors of influence, and are willing to acknowledge their debts by using them in order to go their own way. They’ve learned what Thomas Mann knew: “A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.”

― Stephen Dunn, Walking Light: Memoirs and Essays on Poetry

“Surely those folks who play their lives and their work eminently safe don’t often put themselves in the position where they can be startled or enlarged. Don’t put themselves near enough to the realm of the unknown where discovery resides, and joy has been rumored to appear.”
― Stephen Dunn, Walking Light: Memoirs and Essays on Poetry

 

“Arnold said, “Poetry should be a criticism of life,” and I think it should be, too. I also think it should be an elucidation of life, a celebration of life, an addition to life, an emblem of the mysteries of life, etc.”
― Stephen Dunn, Walking Light: Memoirs and Essays on Poetry