“It was his decision that his life had to be lived off-stage, behind the scenes, out of view.”

Expressing his lifelong preference for privacy over literary celebrity · Autobiographical essay, Ushant (1952)

• Fame
• Solitude

“Poetry of this sort is not a window through which one may see, but a picture hung on the wall.”

Distinguishing decorative poetry from poetry that interprets human experience · Essay, American Richness and English Distinction, Scepticisms (1919)

• Art
• Poetry
• Truth

“Chinese poetry seems more than any other a cry from the bewildered heart of humanity.”

Recognising a universal human sorrow beneath culturally distant forms · Essay, Sunt Rerum Lacrimae: Chinese Poetry, Scepticisms (1919)

• Despair
• Poetry