Quotes by Eileen Myles

Literature is love. I think it went like this: drawings in the cave, sounds in the cave, songs in the cave, songs about us. Later, stories about us. Part of what we always did was have sex and fight about it and break each other’s hearts. I guess there’s other kinds of love too. Great friendships. Working together. But poetry and novels are lists of our devotions. We love the feel of making the marks as the feelings are rising and falling. Living in literature and love is the best thing there is. You’re always home.

Sometimes in utter hopelessness I put my cheek on the table like it was someone. I wanted to wake my brain up and be loved.

Were basking in language itself. The silence of my friend. My love. The one beyond words in her silence. She is always eternally before. When she speaks it is shit, a gift, something to do. In our moment, of waiting, pointing, silent gear, what we went out for—that is pointing. Shit is the award. The award is shit.

If passion was a substance I would say it is dark brown, and then blood red. Its like wet grass, tons of it soaked in mud. Its warm and it stinks like shit and its unaccountably and endlessly good. Its thick and it goes on for miles and it isnt so much deep as bottomless and it holds you in its grip, you never drown. And then it goes. Thats all you know.

The bag I wanted was beyond reason - something to hold my poems, twice as big as the universe and it must be androgynous.

What happened was private. I was in it with Rose. She had hurt me grievously and now I was forever attached. I was in it now with all the women in the world. I walked home glad. I will die, I thought with a bounce in my step. Im whole. Not whole like anyone else, but whole like me. Painful, but simple. It was very simple now.

Who doesnt want to be famous? I am famous. Im dying to be on TV.

When somebodys in love with you, they think its amazing youve written them a poem, and when they dont love you anymore, they hate those poems. They wish those poems would go away.

If the poetry world celebrate its female stars at the true level of their productivity and influence, poetry would wind up being a largely female world, and the men would leave.

Sunday is a likely day to write a poem. Because poetry is a piece of language flying around: youll find notebooks, something on your phone. Its about finding them and getting them off that crumpled piece of paper and onto my computer.

Poetry always, always, always is a key piece of democracy.

As things get worse, poetry gets better because it becomes more necessary.

I wasnt afraid of being poor. I didnt want to live in a big house. Im the perfect size for poetry. I can move around.

In Arlington, people would laugh at you if you tried to get people to look at your drawings or listen to your poetry. It was like you thought you were special.

Poetry from the bottom up is an act of selection: you kind of feel your way through the crowds of poems. The good ones came forward a long time ago, and the bad ones fell away.

Poetry and novels are lists of our devotions. We love the feel of making the marks as the feelings are rising and falling.