Wallace Stevens

Q: "As a poet what distinguishes you, do you think, from an ordinary man?"
A: "An inability to see much point to the life of an ordinary man. The chances are an ordinary man himself sees very little point to it." [Wallace Stevens, responding to 'Enquiry' questionnaire]

"To me poetry is one of the sanctions of life and I write it because it helps me to accept and validate my experience." [Partisan Review Questionnaire]