Lawrence Ferlinghetti

“Poetry is the shortest distance between two humans.”

“I am waiting for my case to come up and I am waiting for a rebirth of wonder.”

“Challenge capitalism, and you will be swatted down like a fly.”

“Poetry is eternal graffiti written in the heart of everyone.”

“If you're a poet, you create the world you want to live in.”

“The world is a beautiful place to be born into if you don't mind some people dying all the time or maybe only starving some of the time which isn't half so bad if it isn't you.”

“Don't let the bastards grind you down.”

“I am signaling you through the flames. The North Pole is not where it used to be. Manifest Destiny is no longer manifest. Civilization self-destructs.”

“A democracy of despots is no democracy.”

“To be an artist is to be a witness to your time in history.”

“What are we doing here? We're reaching for the stars.”

“The greatest poem is lyric life itself.”

“Pity the nation whose people are sheep, and whose shepherds mislead them.”

“Truth is not the secret of a few, it is the common property of all.”

“What's the use of a good quotation if you can't change it?”

“Constantly risking absurdity and death whenever he performs above the heads of his audience the poet like an acrobat climbs on rime to a high wire of his own making.”