"Great poetry is a circus for the brain. It's ten pounds of excitement in a nine-pound bag. But children won't know what that means unless we offer them the best. Soon, they'll be asking for second and third helpings. Even though few children will become poets, poetry helps them realize that one of the most phenomenal gifts humans get free of charge is the English language. And there is nothing in any language more beautiful, more inspiring and thought-provoking than poetry."
- J. Patrick Lewis
Complete interview by Sylvia Vardell at The Poetry Foundation.
And he's given us quite a bit of that bag of excitement, hasn't he? Thanks for this every day, Irene!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting, Irene. In place of "the English language," I should have said, "their own language," since every language is a gift to its speakers and readers.
ReplyDeletePat
(aka J. Patrick Lewis)