Lyric Poetry

Seamus Heaney Poet, Playwright

"In fact, in lyric poetry, truthfulness becomes recognizable as a ring of truth within the medium itself."

Van Morrison Singer-Songwriter

"There's no difference between lyrics and poetry. Words are words. The only difference is the people who are in academic positions and call themselves poets and have an academic stance. They've got something to lose if they say it's all poetry; if there's not music to it, and you have to wear a certain kind of checkered shirt or something like that. It's all the same. Lyrics are lyrics, poetry is poetry, lyrics are poetry, and poetry is lyrics. They are interchangeable to me."

Bob Dylan Singer-songwriter

"Most songs have bridges in them, to distract listeners from the main verses of a song so they don't get bored. My songs don't have a lot of bridges because lyric poetry never had them."

Boris Pasternak Poet, Novelist

"It is no longer possible for lyric poetry to express the immensity of our experience. Life has grown too cumbersome, too complicated. We have acquired values which are best expressed in prose."