6 Quotes & Sayings By Jack Spicer

Jack was born in London in 1924 - he lost his mother when he was very young, and after the death of his father, his life was initially taken over by an aunt and uncle. He was educated at a school for 'deserving' children. In 1942 he joined the Royal Air Force where he served as a mechanic, and later a Bomb Aimer, until 1945. His time in the armed forces was divided between the UK and India Read more

The war ended while he was stationed in India, but it wasn't until 1949 that he began to make a career out of writing. In 1952, Jack married Jane Belson and they moved to Devon where their first daughter, Lucy, was born. His other children were Peter (born 1955) and Peggy (born 1958).

In 1970 he became a full-time writer and lived with his family in Barnstaple, North Devon. Jack died on 20th February 2007 leaving behind a legacy of more than 250 books.

1
Most of my friends like words too well. They set them under the blinding light of the poem and try to extract every possible connotation from each of them, every temporary pun, every direct or indirect connection - as if a word could become an object by mere addition of consequences. Others pick up words from the streets, from their bars, from their offices and display them proudly in their poems as if they were shouting, "See what I have collected from the American language. Look at my butterflies, my stamps, my old shoes! " What does one do with all this crap?. Jack Spicer
2
Words are what sticks to the real. We use them to push the real, to drag the real into the poem. They are what we hold on with, nothing else. They are as valuable in themselves as rope with nothing to be tied to. Jack Spicer
3
And I think that it is certainly possible that the objective universe can be affected by the poet. I mean, you recall Orpheus made the trees and the stones dance and so forth, and this is something which is in almost all primitive cultures. I think it has some definite basis to it. I'm not sure what. It's like telekinesis, which I know very well on a pinball machine is perfectly possible. Jack Spicer
4
ANY FOOL CAN GET INTO AN OCEAN BUT IT TAKES A GODDESS TO GET OUT OF ONE. Jack Spicer
5
AimlesslyIt pounds the shore. White and aimless signals. NoOne listens to poetry.– from "Thing Language Jack Spicer