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I learned a tremendous amount during my years as a painter, and many of those lessons have transferred to the writing life. Don’t get precious; trust your instincts; take plenty of chances; court the unknown; resolve problems internally, that is, by honoring the work’s existing structure; love yourself; be prepared to throw every word of it away.
-- Dave King
“How To Be a Poet (to remind myself)”
Make a place to sit down.
Sit down. Be quiet.
You must depend upon
affection, reading, knowledge,
skill—more of each
than you have—inspiration,
work, growing older, patience,
for patience joins time
to eternity. Any readers
who like your work,
doubt their judgment.
Breathe with unconditional breath
the unconditioned air.
Shun electric wire.
Communicate slowly. Live
a three-dimensioned life;
stay away from screens.
Stay away from anything
that obscures the place it is in.
There are no unsacred places;
There are only sacred places
And desecrated places.
-- Wendell Berry
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