Today’s post was going to highlight un-nominated-for-the-CYBILS poetry books from a publisher. That didn’t go so well. See my mini-rant. So I looked for a quotation to share instead, and the first four words of this quotation fit me so well this morning, I thought maybe it was a sign!
This quotation refers to poetry, but I think it’s true of idea-finding in any form.
"You will not find poetry anywhere unless you bring some of it with you."
–Joseph Joubert
I think it’s probably more true of reading poetry than it is of other forms, though. Reading poetry requires the reader to bring more to the table, I think. You have to be engaged, and the shape and the meaning of the poem often shift depending on the reader’s experiences and moods. What do you think?