John Ciardi Quotes

"You don't have to suffer to be a poet; adolescence is enough suffering for anyone."
-John Ciardi in Poetry quotes.

"But when the pen is in his hand he has to write by itch and twitch, though certainly his itch and twitch are intimately conditioned by all his past itching and twitching, and by all his past theorizing about them."
-John Ciardi in Writing quotes.

"Modern art is what happens when painters stop looking at girls and persuade themselves that they have a better idea."
-John Ciardi in Art quotes.

"Every parent is at some time the father of the unreturned prodigal, with nothing to do but keep his house open to hope."
-John Ciardi in Parents quotes.

"Love is the word used to label the sexual excitement of the young, the habituation of the middle-aged, and the mutual dependence of the old."
-John Ciardi in Love quotes.

"The Constitution gives every American the inalienable right to make a damn fool of himself."
-John Ciardi

"Intelligence recognizes what has happened. Genius recognizes what will happen."
-John Ciardi in Intelligence quotes.

"Gentility is what is left over from rich ancestors after the money is gone."
-John Ciardi

"A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students."
-John Ciardi

"There is nothing wrong with sobriety in moderation."
-John Ciardi