Bad literature . . . is a form of treason.

Bad literature is a form of treason.

Is there not some chosen curse, Some hidden thunder in the stores of heaven, Red with uncommon wrath, to blast the man Who owes his greatness to his country's ruin?

It is not just shameful for a contemporary American poet to use rhymes, it is unthinkable. It seems banal to him; he fears banality worse than anything, and therefore, he uses free verse - though free verse is no guarantee against banality.

A writer is seldom satisfied with the condition he finds himself in. We're all given to fretting a lot.

Man is what he reads.