“Writing poems is a bit like panning for gold. You have to be prepared to sit for a long while in the cold murk of the river-bed and grow heavy with alluvial dust for the sake of the gold it contains.”
- Julia Copus, New Blood (Bloodaxe Books, 1999)
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Tags: Bloodaxe Books, English poets, English radio dramatists, Julia Copus quotes, New Blood, poetry quotes, quotes, writing quotes
2009/09/18 at 9:48 pm
Awesome quote. Four words say it all: “cold murk” and “grow heavy.” I like that it’s sitting in a riverbed:)
2009/09/18 at 10:22 pm
… in the shadow of an oak trailing Spanish moss.
2009/09/19 at 4:49 pm
Oh, what a lovely quote… love it, Michelle!
xo
2009/09/19 at 8:00 pm
this is exactly what it feels like to me now. sitting and waiting. and waiting more
2009/09/20 at 6:08 pm
She’s a wonderful writer, hard to imagine she ever has to pan.
2009/09/21 at 10:51 pm
Nice. Some have more experienced pans. Or maybe it’s really just all in the wrist.
Probably is the amount of time you work at it, though.