26 Quotes by Peter Porter

Much have I travelled in the realms of gold for which I thank the Paddington and Westminster Public Libraries.

Somewhere at the heart of the universe sounds the true mystic note: Me.

Writing poetry is the only form of literary labour which gives me entire satisfaction.

A professional is one who believes he has invented breathing.

Poetry is either language lit up by life or life lit up by language

Poetry is either language lit up by life or life lit up by language.

We cannot know what John of Leyden felt Under the Bishop ’s tongs – we can only Walk in temperate London, our educated city, Wishing to cry as freely as they did who died In the Age of Faith. We have our loneliness And our regret with which to build an eschatology.

I started off in England and very few people knew I was Australian. I mean, the clues were in the poems, but they didn’t read them very carefully, and so for years and years I was considered completely part of the English poetry scene.