A.R. Ammons Quotes, born Archie Randolph Ammons on February 18, 1926, in Whiteville, North Carolina, was an American poet whose lyrical and philosophical work explored nature, perception, and the human condition. Growing up on a tobacco farm during the Great Depression, he began writing poetry aboard a Navy destroyer in World War II. His collections, including Collected Poems 1951–1971 and Garbage, won two National Book Awards (1973, 1993), and his honors include the Bollingen Prize and a MacArthur Fellowship. Teaching at Cornell University from 1964 to 1998, Ammons blended colloquial and transcendental tones.
These 15 quotes—sourced from his writings, interviews, and poems—reflect his insights on poetry, existence, and the beauty of the natural world, capturing his introspective, luminous voice until his passing in 2001.
15 A.R. Ammons Quotes
- “Only silence perfects silence.” (BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “Anything looked at closely becomes wonderful.” (AZQuotes, n.d.)
- “Poetry leads us to the unstructured sources of our beings, to the unknown, and returns us to our rational, structured selves refreshed.” (AZQuotes, 1996)
- “You have your identity when you find out, not what you can keep your mind on, but what you can’t keep your mind off.” (Goodreads, n.d.)
- “In nature there are few sharp lines.” (BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “If a poem is each time new, then it is necessarily an act of discovery, a chance taken, a chance that may lead to fulfillment or disaster.” (AZQuotes, n.d.)
- “There’s something to be said in favor of working in isolation in the real world.” (BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “Things go away to return, brightened for the passage.” (Goodreads, Sphere: The Form of a Motion, 1974)
- “Definition, rationality, and structure are ways of seeing, but they become prisons when they blank out other ways of seeing.” (AZQuotes, n.d.)
- “Though I have looked everywhere / I can find nothing lowly / in the universe.” (PictureQuotes, n.d.)
- “I can’t tell you where a poem comes from, what it is, or what it is for: nor can any other man.” (AZQuotes, n.d.)
- “Questions structure and, so, to some extent predetermine answers.” (PictureQuotes, n.d.)
- “Is it not careless to become too local when there are four hundred billion stars in our galaxy alone.” (QuoteTab, n.d.)
- “The poet exposes himself to the risk. All that has been said about poetry, all that he has learned about poetry, is only a partial assurance.” (LibQuotes, n.d.)
- “What destruction have I been blessed by?” (Goodreads, n.d.)
A.R. Ammons’ quotes shimmer with poetic wonder, philosophical depth, and a call to see the world anew, inspiring us to embrace the mystery and beauty of existence. Which quote stirs your soul? Share it in the comments and keep Ammons’ lyrical legacy thriving!
Emma Thompson
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