"It's linkage I'm talking about, and harmonies and structures, And all the various things that lock our wrists to the past."
About Charles Wright
Charles Wright — Life and Legacy
Charles Wright is a prominent American poet celebrated for his profound engagement with themes of nature, identity, and the passage of time. His distinctive voice is marked by a deep connection to the landscapes of his youth in the rural South, which serves as a backdrop for much of his work. In 'The Branch Will Not Break,' Wright reflects on resilience and the enduring nature of life, suggesting that despite adversity, there is a continuity that binds us to our surroundings. Wright's poetry often reveals a contemplative worldview, where he explores the complexities of human existence through the lens of the natural world. His lines invite readers to consider how identity is shaped by both personal experience and the environment. For instance, he writes about the interplay between memory and landscape, illustrating how our surroundings influence our sense of self. The relevance of Wright's work persists today as it resonates with readers seeking to understand their place in the world. His ability to articulate the tension between the ephemeral and the eternal speaks to universal human experiences, making his insights into nature and identity both timeless and deeply personal.
Quote collection
Charles Wright quotes
19 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"The music of memory has its own pitch,/which not everyone hears."
"It’s up there, and you can see the front of it. But what it is isn’t what you’re looking at. It’s behind what you’re looking at."
"We've all led raucous lives, some of them inside, some of them out. But only the poem you leave behind is what's important. Everyone knows this. The voyage into the interior is all that matters, Whatever your ride. Sometimes I can't sit still for all the asininities I read. Give me the hummingbird, who has to eat sixty times His own weight a day just to stay alive. Now that's a life on the edge."
"How sweet the past is, no matter how wrong, or how sad. How sweet is yesterday's noise"
"What makes us leave what we love best? What is it inside us that keeps erasing itself When we need it most, That sends us into uncertainty for its own sake And holds us flush there until we begin to love it And have to begin again? What is it within our own lives we decline to live Whenever we find it, making our days unendurable, And nights almost visionless? I still don't know yet, but I do it."
"Some people have everything Other people don't But everything don't mean a thing If it ain't the thing you want"
"It may not be written in any book, but it is written - You can't go back, you can't repeat the unrepeatable."
"If you want great tranquility/ It's hard work and a long walk"
"Our dreams are luminous, a cast fire upon the world. Morning arrives and that's it. Sunlight darkens the earth."
"Poetry is the dark side of the moon."
"All forms of landscape are autobiographical."
"Everyone knows this. The voyage into the interior is all that matters, Whatever your ride."
"The ache for anything is a thick dust in the heart."
"Snub end of a dismal year, deep in the dwarf orchard, The sky with its undercoat of blackwash and point stars, I stand in the dark and answer to My life, this shirt I want to take off, which is on fire . . ."
"I empty myself with light Until I become morning."
"How many years have slipped through our hands? At least as many as the constellations we still can identify. The quarter moon, like a light skiff, floats out of the mist-remnants Of last night’s hard rain. It, too, will slip through our fingers with no ripple, without us in it."
"November’s a burn and an ache."
"How many times can summer turn to fall in one life?"