Brendan Kennelly famous quotes

Last updated: Sep 5, 2024

All songs are living ghosts. And long for a living voice
-- Brendan Kennelly

#Song #Voice #Long
Poetry is the ultimate democracy.
-- Brendan Kennelly

#Democracy #Poetry Is #Ultimate
If you want to serve the age, betray it.
-- Brendan Kennelly

#Age #Want #Betray
Poetry is, above all, a singing art of natural and magical connection because, though it is born out of one's person's solitude, it has the ability to reach out and touch in a humane and warmly illuminating way the solitude, even the loneliness, of others. That is why, to me, poetry is one of the most vital treasures that humanity possesses; it is a bridge between separated souls.
-- Brendan Kennelly

#Art #Loneliness #Bridges
A writer is not interested in explaining reality, heâ€™s only interested in capturing it.
-- Brendan Kennelly

#Reality #Explaining #Not Interested
Though we live in a world that dreams of ending that always seems about to give in something that will not acknowledge conclusion insists that we forever begin.
-- Brendan Kennelly

#Dream #Giving #Forever

It's funny because if you ever ask anyone in England to try and do a Beatles accent, no one knows what they really sound like. If you ask anyone in America, they would try and give it a go. English people just know their songs.
For many of us the march from Selma to Montgomery was about protest and prayer. Legs are not lips and walking is not kneeling. And yet our legs uttered songs. Even without words, our march was worship. I felt my legs were praying.
Truth is, you make albums, and some of those songs are hits, and some of the greatest hits albums have songs that weren't hits. You have a career, the reason why we're still around 10 years is that we do have successful songs.
Daniel Levitin takes the most sophisticated ideas that exist about the brain and mind, applies them to the most emotionally direct art we have, our songs, and makes beautiful music of the two together.
I am the first instrument. I am the voice. I do not imitate other instruments. Other instruments imitate me.
When religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion, its message becomes meaningless.
To sing means to sense and to affirm that the spirit is real and that its glory is present.
I have a pretty lousy voice.
When you get to my age life seems little more than one long march to and from the lavatory.
People should be left to believe what they like, so long as they harm no one else. Apart from normal expectations of politeness, it is not however clear why people should require their personal beliefs to be treated with special sensitivity by others, to the point that if others fail to tip-toe respectfully around them they will start throwing bombs.

Brendan Kennelly famous quotes

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