I cannot believe that the inscrutable universe turns on an axis of suffering; surely the strange beauty of the world must somewhere rest on pure joy!
Innocence of heart and violence of feeling are necessary in any kind of superior achievement: The arts cannot exist without them.
I hope that one or two immortal lyrics will come out of all this tumbling about.
[Your work] is carved out of agony as a statue is carved out of marble.
In a time lacking in truth and certainty and filled with anguish and despair, no woman should be shamefaced in attempting to give back to the world, through her work, a portion of its lost heart.
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Published Sources for Quotations Above:
F:
From "Journey in Word," ed. Cyndi Craven; an internet collection of quotations
R:
Quoted in "Achievement in American Poetry: 1900-50," 1951.
A:
Of her affair with fellow poet Theodore Roethke.
N:
In letter to Theodore Roethke, in "Achievement in American Poetry: 1900-50," 1951.
K:
In "The Last Word - A Treasury of Women's Quotes," by Carolyn Warner, 1992.