Category - James Fenton

Discover the thoughtful and inspirational Quotes of James Fenton, a philosopher and author. Our collection of his most impactful quotes reflects his deep understanding of language, philosophy, and history.
Whether seeking thought-provoking reflections or academic wisdom, James Fentons words offer a rich source of intellectual inspiration. #JamesFenton James Fenton Motivational Quotes of James Fenton

James Fenton

The Mormon mission to Africa, as to other dark-skinned parts of the world, was for a long time hobbled by the racism of the movement’s scripture.

– James Fenton

James Fenton

Hearing that the same men who brought us ‘South Park’ were mounting a musical to be called ‘The Book of Mormon,’ we were tempted to turn away, as from an inevitable massacre.

– James Fenton

James Fenton

What is this’, and ‘How is this done?’ are the first two questions to ask of any work of art. The second question immediately illuminates the first, but it often doesn’t get asked. Perhaps it sounds too technical. Perhaps it sounds pedestrian.

– James Fenton

James Fenton

The 1960s was a period when writers in the West began to be aware of the extraordinary eloquence and popular attraction of the Russian poets such as Yevtushenko and Voznesensky – oppositional figures who could draw crowds. The Russian poets recited from memory as a matter of course.

– James Fenton

James Fenton

A really interesting and happy time was when I first went to Florence as a student and studied Italian. I was living in a pensione on an allowance of Â£40 a month, which was princely. I did a lot of work and enjoyed myself immensely.

– James Fenton

James Fenton

I prefer writing in the mornings, so to that extent I have a routine. I do reading and other things in the afternoon.

– James Fenton

James Fenton

Nobody really knows whether they are a poet. I knew I was interested from the age of 15.

– James Fenton

James Fenton

There is no objection to the proposal: in order to learn to be a poet, I shall try to write a sonnet. But the thing you must try to write, when you do so, is a real sonnet, and not a practice sonnet.

– James Fenton

James Fenton

In the writing of poetry we never know anything for sure. We will never know if we have ‘trained’ or ‘practised’ enough. We will never be able to say that we have reached grade eight, or that we have left the grades behind and are now embarked on an advanced training.

– James Fenton

James Fenton

One problem we face comes from the lack of any agreed sense of how we should be working to train ourselves to write poetry.

– James Fenton

James Fenton

For poets today or in any age, the choice is not between freedom on the one hand and abstruse French forms on the other. The choice is between the nullity and vanity of our first efforts, and the developing of a sense of idiom, form, structure, metre, rhythm, line – all the fundamental characteristics of this verbal art.

– James Fenton

James Fenton

Some of my educated Filipino friends were aspiring poets, but their aspirations were all in the direction of the United States. They had no desire to learn from the bardic tradition that continued in the barrios. Their ideal would have been to write something that would get them to Iowa, where they would study creative writing.

– James Fenton

Copyright © 2025 · Created by Quotes Studio