Literary Birthday – 16 January – Anthony Hecht

Anthony Hecht was born 16 January 1923, and died 20 October 2004.

Three Quotes

1. There’s not a good poet I know who has not at the beck and call of his memory a vast quantity of poetry that composes his mental library.
2. Poetry operates by hints and dark suggestions. It is full of secrets and hidden formulae, like a witch’s brew.
3. It doesn’t seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.

Anthony Hecht was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet. His work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history. He was known for his masterful control of form and language, and for his wit and humour. He is the author of The Darkness and the Light.

Source for Image Cmacauley (talk) 13:52, 16 August 2010 (UTC), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

by Amanda Patterson

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