Thursday, 19 June 2014

How the POET differs from the NOVELIST


"For the difference between poets and novelists is this - that the former write for the life of the language  - and the latter write for the betterment of the world".

                                                                        (Possession - a Romance by A.S.Byatt)


6 comments:

  1. And which, I wonder, is more sacred of the two.

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  2. be careful with putting people in pigeon holes, Fareen...i've known some poets who wrote for the betterment of the world, and i've perused some novels the world would likely be better off without...

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    1. p.s. very sorry for getting your name wrong, Fahreen...i should heed my own advice to be more careful..

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    2. amazng,i did it again....after making such a fool of myself, i'll bet i'll remember your name now, Farheen

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    3. Third time lucky!
      The funny thing is that this statement from the book 'Possession' (Byatt) was said (or written in a letter to be more precise) by a character who was a poet!
      The world works in strange ways....

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