The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create — so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.

~ Pearl S. Buck

"Music isn't enough. Performers aren't enough. There must be someone that loves music as much as life. For you, and remember this always, those of us with something urgent to say, we give everything."

~ William Kapell

"And then finally when you get far enough along in a thing, you feel as though you're living there - not just working at a painting, but actually working in that valley. You're there."

~ Andrew Wyeth

"I cannot imagine why my vision will have some value in the world... and yet I know it will... I think I will count because I am patient and recueilli (contemplative) in some degree."

~ Gwendolen Mary John

i came upon the 30 Poems in 30 Days project twenty poems late, but the wisdom and inspiration remains if you feel like going back and reading the posts. they inspired me quite a bit.

anyway, the last day's post was full of quotes on poetry. i thought i'd post them here too!

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"Some people`s photography is an art. Mine is not. If they happen to be exhibited in a gallery or a museum, that`s fine. But that`s not why I do them. I`m a gun for hire."
Helmut Newton

"In order to make a resumé, the meaning of art is: learn to see and to feel life; that is, cultivate imagination, because there are still marvels in the world, because life is a mystery and always will be. But be aware of it. Therefore art means: you have to believe, to have faith, that is, cultivate vision."

~ Josef Albers