Well, there are certain stock words that I have found myself using a great deal. When I become aware of them, it is an alarm signal meaning I am falling back on something that has served in the past—it is a sign of not thinking at the present moment, not that there is anything intrinsically bad about certain words or phrases.

About This Quote

About John Ashbery

John Ashbery was a 20th-century American poet. John Lawrence Ashbery was an American poet and art critic. Read more on Wikipedia →

More quotes by John Ashbery

“Walter Pater said that all the arts aspire to the condition of music, but Ive always felt that music aspires to the condition of words.”
— John Ashbery
arts music words

“The first year was like icing. Then the cake started to show through ”
— John Ashbery
ashbery cake love poetry

“I'm heading for a clean-named placelike Wisconsin, and mad as a jack-o'-lantern, will get therewithout help and nosy proclivities.”
— John Ashbery
assistance independence nosiness poem

“A little bunny or some kind of ferret was probablythere too, and bore witness as only rodents can.”
— John Ashbery
bunny ferret poem poetry

“Its a bit mad. Too bad, I mean, that getting to know each just for a fleeting second Must be replaced by unperfect knowledge of the featureless wholeLike some pocket history of the world, so genera...”
— John Ashbery
knowledge

“Things can harden meaningfully in the moment of indecision”
— John Ashbery
indecision time
View all quotes by John Ashbery →