“The poem is a loose logical structure with an irrelevant local texture.”

A concise expression of his influential distinction between a poem’s logical structure and its rich verbal texture. · Book, The New Criticism

• Language
• Poetry
• Structure

“I hate a professional poet. I know people who have ruined themselves by being professional poets, because they end up imitating themselves.”

A warning that professional success can encourage repetition and stifle artistic renewal. · Conversation with Robert Penn Warren, as recalled by Warren

• Creativity
• Originality
• Writing

“The more eminent the professor of English, the less apt he is to be able to write decent criticism.”

A deliberately provocative challenge to the assumption that scholarly eminence automatically produces good literary criticism. · Essay, Criticism, Inc.

• Criticism
• Education
• Judgement