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Poems are taught as though the poet has put a secret key in his words and it is the reader's job to find it. Poems are not mystery novels.

Natalie Goldberg

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Natalie Goldberg
Age: 76
Born: 1948
Born: January 4
Author
Novelist
Writer
Brooklyn
New York
Words
Poet
Jobs
Mystery
Find
Reader
Poetry
Novel
Taught
Poems
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Novels
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Keys

More quotes by Natalie Goldberg

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Kill the idea of the lone, suffering artist. Don't make it any harder on yourself.
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The problem is we think we exist.
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Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.
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I still write with pen and paper and have someone type it on a computer. But rewriting I do by hand.
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The things that make you a functional citizen in society - manners, discretion, cordiality - don't necessarily make you a good writer. Writing needs raw truth, wants your suffering and darkness on the table, revels in a cutting mind that takes no prisoners.
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We walk through so many myths of each other and ourselves we are so thankful when someone sees us for who we are and accepts us.
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Over and over, we have to go back to the beginning. We should not be ashamed of this. It is good. It's like drinking water.
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Indefinite plans get dubious results.
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To encounter a fine book and have time to read it is a wonderful thing.
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poems are small moments of enlightenment
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I consider writing practice a true Zen practice because it all comes back at you. You can't fool anyone because it's on the page.
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Don't let yourself be thrown away....Continue on no matter what....Continue to make a positive effort for the good.
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Anything we fully do is an alone journey.
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Clarity and perseverance are difficult in American society because the basis of capitalism is greed and dissatisfaction.
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Because I've been doing my practice for so long, I knew what to do even under really hard circumstances.
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One poem or story doesn't matter one way or the other. It's the process of writing and life that matters.
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We are important and our lives are important, magnificent really, and their details are worthy to be recorded.
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This is your life. You are responsible for it. You will not live forever. Don't wait.
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This is the practice school of writing. Like running, the more you do it, the better you get at it.
Natalie Goldberg
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If I didn't have that, fear and projections over what was coming next could have taken over. But it was tough. Don't think I was an angel. It was hell.
Natalie Goldberg