Too many poets act like a middle-aged mother trying to get her kids to eat too much cooked meat, and potatoes with drippings (tears). I don't give a damn whether they eat or not. Forced feeding leads to excessive thinness (effete). Nobody should experience anything they don't need to, if they don't need poetry bully for them. I like the movies too. And after all, only Whitman and Crane and Williams, of the American poets, are better than the movies. Frank OHara
About This Quote

When Edgar Allen Poe wrote, "Too many poets act like a middle-aged mother trying to get her kids to eat too much cooked meat, and potatoes with drippings (tears)," he was speaking about the need for poetry in the modern world. Poetry was something that could be enjoyed and appreciated by everyone, and it would encourage people to eat well and stay healthy. However, too much poetry left people feeling full and bloated. It's okay to be full, but it's important that you eat enough.

Poets often try to force their views on others by making them feel guilty if they aren't eating enough. When it comes down to it though, poetry can be enjoyed by everyone. It doesn't have to be forced on anyone else if you don't want it.

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