M. H. Abrams Quotes

The first question at that time in poetry was simply the question of honesty, of sincerity.

I want that every piece of art be honest, never mind what it is about.

Like everything genuine, its inner life guarantees its truth. All works of art created by truthful minds without regard for the work's conventional exterior remain genuine for all times.

I think the success of my work stems from being truthful.

Art is about expressing the true nature of the human spirit in whatever way one wishes to express it. If it is honest, it is beautiful. If it is not honest, it is obvious.

A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener scent his roses.

All of my music is honest.

It's when you begin to lie to yourself in a poem in order to simply make a poem, that you fail.

I would rather write something that's authentic to me than something that'll be likely to get played on the radio but doesn't have any substance to it. People can see through that really quickly.

I think art is much more valuable when it's honest. If it's not honest, it's just propaganda.

It's just about being honest. I listen to a lot of stuff that's out there, some of which I wrote, and I'm like, 'Where is that? Where's the honesty?' So that's what I want to get to in my music now.

A poet's first contract is with truth.

I want to be remembered as an artist that gave you a piece of me, as opposed to some surface bullshit. I just want to be remembered as a poet that was open and honest because I wake up every morning and I'm me.

When I open my mouth and sing, the truth comes out. When I write, the truth comes out. I can't lie. That, I think, is one of the strongest elements of my music. When people talk about my writing as though I'm doing it from an accountant's perspective, it really pisses me off.

I think that people respond to honesty in music, so I only choose songs that are the truth for me.

Music to me is about being honest, and it's what I've always pictured music as. I don't see the point of expressing yourself if you are going to be cryptic about it.

The best strips are the most honest. That's just the truth of it.

The only thing you can really say in a poem is what you really, really deeply believe.

I think if you're too concerned with being cool or hip or liked, you can't really make good TV because sincerity and coolness are opposites.

Only truthful hands write true poems. I cannot see any basic difference between a handshake and a poem.

Learn your instrument. Be honest. Don't do anything phony. There is so much crap floating around. There is plenty of room for a bit of honest writing.

The merit of originality is not novelty; it is sincerity.

In my eyes, I think it's important that if you're doing something you're proud of and that is genuine and authentic, you have a responsibility to bring that to as many people as possible, just for the sheer reason that there are musicians out there who are manufacturing emotions that aren't genuine.

Truth is the number one element in whatever you do with music.

The poet never asks for admiration; he wants to be believed.