Cover of Self-Portrait with Expletives, a book by Kevin Clark, poet, essayist, and teacher in the English Department at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.
“Poetry is a dream dreamed in the presence of reason.”
“There is only one plot: Things are not what they seem.”
“Keep your eye clear and hit ’em where they ain’t.”
“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?”
“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.”
“Poetry begins where certitude ends.”
“Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.”
“I like restraint—if doesn’t go too far.”
“Let’s play two.”
“A work of art is never completed, merely abandoned.”
“The art of running the mile consists, in essence, of reaching the threshold of consciousness at the instant of breasting the tape.”
“For me the initial delight is in the surprise of remembering something I didn’t know I already knew.”
“In the midst of our happiness we were very pleased.”