I Wanted to Write a Poem Quotes

“You remember I had a strong inclination all my life to be a painter. Under different circumstances I would rather have been a painter than to bother with these god-damn words. I never actually thought of myself as a poet but I knew I had to be an artist in some way.”
― William Carlos Williams, I Wanted to Write a Poem: The Autobiography of the Works of a Poet

“I had sent [the magazine] a batch of poems which they turned down flat. I was furious. Floss [my wife] said, 'If I were the editor of that magazine *I* would turn down what *you* sent.' So *she* picked a batch and they accepted them *all*.”
― William Carlos Williams, I Wanted to Write a Poem: The Autobiography of the Works of a Poet

“I have always associated [Al Que Quiere!] with a figure on a soccer field: to him who wants the ball to be passed to him. [...] I was convinced nobody in the world of poetry wanted me but I was there willing to pass the ball if anyone did want it.”
― William Carlos Williams, I Wanted to Write a Poem: The Autobiography of the Works of a Poet