"A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener scent his roses."
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Jean Cocteau quotes (page 2 of 11)
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"An artist cannot speak about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture."
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"I only fear the death of others. For me, true death is that of the people I love"
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"Children and lunatics cut the Gordian knot which the poet spends his life patiently trying to untie."
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"The worst tragedy for a poet is to be admired through being misunderstood."
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"French people are Italian people in a bad mood."
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"We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?"
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"What uniform can I wear to hide my heavy heart? It is too heavy. It will always show."
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"Listen carefully to first criticisms made of your work. Note just what it is about your work that critics don't like - then cultivate it. That's the only part of your work that's individual and worth keeping."
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"Man seeks to escape himself in myth, and does so by any means at his disposal. Drugs, alcohol, or lies. Unable to withdraw into himself, he disguises himself. Lies and inaccuracy give him a few moments of comfort."
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"The job of the poet (a job which can't be learned) consists of placing those objects of the visible world which have become invisible due to the glue of habit, in an unusual position which strikes the soul and gives them a tragic force."
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"May the devil himself splatter you with dung."
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"Poets don't draw. They unravel their handwriting and then tie it up again, but differently."
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"Poetry is a religion without hope. The poet exhausts himself in its service, knowing that, in the long run, a masterpiece is nothing but the performance of a trained dog on very shaky ground."
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"All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects and feelings which motivated it."
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"Beauty cannot be recognized with a cursory glance."
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"The joy of the young is to disobey"
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"Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time."
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"Do as the beautiful woman: see to your figure and your petticoats. Though, of course, I am not speaking literally."
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"In Paris, everybody wants to be an actor; nobody is content to be a spectator."
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