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Now, for so many poets, critics, editors, small-press publishers, creative-writing programs, the chief thing seems to be keeping the patient alive.

— Joseph Epstein Who Killed Poetry? (1988)

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More quotes by Joseph Epstein

We use books like mirrors, gazing into them only to discover ourselves.

Of the seven deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all.

I believe it was Gayelord Hauser, the nutritionist, who said, "You are what you eat," but if you happen to be an intellectual, you are what you quote.

Even socialists, Marxists, and revolutionaries seem to have lost their belief in the future; the old shibboleths come rolling off their lips, but it is as if they cannot keep the scales from dropping from their eyes.

The reason "closure" is a cliché is that it is used too often, too imprecisely, and doesn't in any case reflect reality. In reality, such closure in broken friendships, and much else in life, is rarely achieved; only death brings closure, and then not always for those still living.

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Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.

Francis Bacon Meditationes sacræ (1597)

Strength of creative writing lies in the skill of handling words and articulating artistic expression of feelings.”

Suman Pokhrel

The free-lance writer is a man who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.

Robert Benchley

Three sleepless nights I passed in sounding on,
Through words and things, a dim and perilous way.

William Wordsworth Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed (1919)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Joseph Epstein (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.