“I have no objection to being called a historical poet.” Accepting the connection between his verse and the past he inhabited imaginatively · Conversation / critical statement, as commonly attributed History Memory Poetry
“I have tried to write about things which are not entirely foreign to me.” Emphasizing lived experience as the basis of artistic truth · Prose statement on his poetic method Art Memory Truth
“I am a poet of old age.” A concise description of his recurring concern with maturity, memory and mortality · Conversation / interview, as commonly reported Age Memory Mortality
“I am not a poet. I am a historian.” Presenting his poetry as a record of historical experience and consciousness · Conversation, as reported in biographical accounts Memory Poetry Time
