William Jay Smith (born 22 April 1918) is an American poet. He was appointed the nineteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1968 to 1970.
Famous quotes containing the words jay smith, william jay, jay and/or smith:
“The lariat snaps; the cowboy rolls
His pack, and mounts and rides away.
Back to the land the cowboy goes.”
—William Jay Smith (b. 1918)
“Not ringed but rare, not gilled but polyp-like, having sprung up
overnight—
These mushrooms of the gods, resembling human organs uprooted,
rooted only on the air,”
—William Jay Smith (b. 1918)
“You may call a jay a bird. Well, so he is, in a measure—because he’s got feathers on him, and don’t belong to no church, perhaps; but otherwise he is just as much a human as you be. And I’ll tell you for why. A jay’s gifts and instincts, and feelings, and interests, cover the whole ground. A jay hasn’t got any more principle than a Congressman.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“Why does my Muse only speak when she is unhappy?
She does not, I only listen when I am unhappy
When I am happy I live and despise writing
For my Muse this cannot but be dispiriting.”
—Stevie Smith (1902–1971)