Now It Must Dry
George Seferis wrote in his journal on October 31, 1946, wrote this about his work on his poem "Thrush":
Notice the emphasis is not on the evaluation of its quality or state; rather, its state in relation to the writer is emphasized. "It must dry," which we can interpret as a separation from the act of writing it. Only when distance between the act and the art is achieved by the poet can the poet really determine quality and state...though they may be mistaken. This is another version of Horace's admonishment:
I don't know if it's good; I don't know that it's finished. Now it must dry.This captures succinctly what writing poems is like for me, and what I think writing poems for many poets is like.
Notice the emphasis is not on the evaluation of its quality or state; rather, its state in relation to the writer is emphasized. "It must dry," which we can interpret as a separation from the act of writing it. Only when distance between the act and the art is achieved by the poet can the poet really determine quality and state...though they may be mistaken. This is another version of Horace's admonishment:
nonumque prematur in annum
membranis intus positis; delere licebit
quod non edideris; nescit uox missa reuerti.
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