Anne Sexton

Poet, Author

Anne Sexton was an American poet known for her confessional style, exploring themes of mental illness and love in works like 'Live or Die'.

Born
March 9, 1928
Died
October 4, 1974
Quotes
332
Rank
#169

About Anne Sexton

Anne Sexton — Life and Legacy

Anne Sexton was a prominent American poet whose confessional style brought to light the complexities of mental health and personal experience. Her notable work, 'Live or Die', delves into her struggles with depression and the intricacies of love, making her voice both unique and relatable. Sexton's poetry often reflects her internal conflicts, as seen in her quote, 'I am a poet, and I am a woman', which underscores her dual identity in a challenging literary landscape. Her exploration of love is marked by a raw honesty, revealing both its beauty and its burdens. In her poem 'The Kiss', she captures the tension between desire and despair, illustrating how love can be both a refuge and a source of pain. This duality in her work challenges conventional notions of romance, inviting readers to confront the darker aspects of intimacy. Sexton's quotes resonate today, as they continue to speak to the struggles of mental health and the quest for authenticity. Her willingness to share her vulnerabilities has paved the way for others to express their own experiences, making her contributions to literature both impactful and enduring.

Quote collection

Anne Sexton quotes (page 1 of 17)

332 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

Anne Sexton Poet, Author
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"Emerald as heavy as a golf course, ruby as dark as an afterbirth, diamond as white as sun on the sea."

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Anne Sexton Poet, Author
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"As it has been said: Love and a cough cannot be concealed. Even a small cough. Even a small love."

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Anne Sexton Poet, Author
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"I’m lost. And it’s my own fault. It’s about time I figured out that I can’t ask people to keep me found."

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Anne Sexton Poet, Author
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"Watch out for intellect, because it knows so much it knows nothing and leaves you hanging upside down, mouthing knowledge as your heart falls out of your mouth."

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Anne Sexton Poet, Author
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"Love? Be it man. Be it woman. It must be a wave you want to glide in on, give your body to it, give your laugh to it, give, when the gravelly sand takes you, your tears to the land. To love another is something like prayer and can't be planned, you just fall into its arms because your belief undoes your disbelief."

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Anne Sexton Poet, Author
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"O starry night, This is how I want to die"

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Anne Sexton Poet, Author
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"O yellow eye, let me be sick with your heat, let me be feverish and frowning."

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Anne Sexton Poet, Author
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"I am alone here in my own mind. There is no map and there is no road. It is one of a kind just as yours is."

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Anne Sexton Poet, Author
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"I am crazy as hell, but I know it. And knowing it is a kind of sanity that makes the sickness worse."

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Anne Sexton Poet, Author
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"All I wanted was a little piece of life, to be married, to have children.... I was trying my damnedest to lead a conventional life, for that was how I was brought up, and it was what my husband wanted of me. But one can't build little white picket fences to keep the nightmares out."

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Anne Sexton Poet, Author
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"The fish are naked. The fish are always awake. They are the color of old spoons and caramels."

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Anne Sexton Poet, Author
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"I am younger each year at the first snow. When I see it, suddenly, in the air, all little and white and moving; then I am in love again and very young and I believe everything."

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Anne Sexton Poet, Author
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"Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never arguing over the timing of an egg, never telling the same story twice."

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"Depression is boring, I think and I would do better to make some soup and light up the cave."

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