Friday, June 12, 2026

Poetry Friday: Get a word in Edgewise with Linda Mitchell


 I didn't get a poetry post done this week, so how about a few words on writing? 


“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” ― William Wordsworth


“Tears are words that need to be written.” ― Paulo Coelho


“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” 

― Toni Morrison


“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” 

― Madeleine L'Engle


“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” ― Picasso


“Write what should not be forgotten.” ― Isabel Allende


~~~~~~~~~~

Visit Linda Mitchell at Another Word Edgewise for the Poetry Friday round-up this week. 


Photo courtesy of Tama66 at Pixabay.

17 comments:

Mona Voelkel said...

Hi Karen, Thank you so much for the quotes! I love them all, and the write your tears quotes especially moved me. I also really loved your intro to the post where you said," I'm inspired by Fred Rogers and his mention of "a small safe place." What a lovely prompt that will make."

Karen Edmisten said...

Monica, I love that Coelho quote too. Linda shared such marvelous quotes this week — and who isn't inspired by Mr. Rogers, right? :) ❤️

elli said...

(*hesitantly raises hand* me. I am not inspired by Mr. R. He freaked the living daylights out of me when I was a little girl, and still gives me heeby jeebies today. … 😰)

Always love reading through good writing *on* writing tho, all the thoughts, yay! 🙂

jama said...

Thanks for the inspiring quotes! Especially liked the Coelho and Picasso ones! :)

Linda Mitchell said...

Gosh, I love a good quote. Tis the season of library weeding. As I pull old books to make room for new books, I always peek to see if there is a quote to grab from the first few pages. These are beauts! I"m currently most inspired by the Picasso quote--I never learned rules well when I was in school. So, I'm learning and giving myself permission to break some rules! Thanks for these bits of wisdom.

Patricia Franz said...

Aw...Coelho's words strike a chord. Thank you for the inspiration, Karen!

Carol Varsalona said...

Karen, “Tears are words that need to be written.” ― Paulo Coelho This quote shall stay with me because it is still real as I move into the 2nd year without my husband.

Karen Edmisten said...

elli, oh, no on the freak-outs! Poor you when you were little! (And still, I guess.) I didn't used to think much of him one way or the other (except those puppets did kinda freak me out) but then I read up on his activism and really admired him as a quiet but effective rebel. :)

Karen Edmisten said...

Carol, I'm sending love and hugs. xo

Karen Edmisten said...

Jama, Linda, and Patricia, I'm so glad these quotes are hitting! :D ❤️❤️

Linda B said...

I love them all, Karen, and today, connecting to the Picasso one especially. The NYTimes has a Hockney article that highlights several of his works, including showing him having a conversation with Picasso! Quite wonderful! Thanks for an inspiring post!

Carol Labuzzetta said...

Karen, Thanks for sharing these quotes! They are all so great! Any of them could be used to inspire poetry! I especially like the quotes by Toni Morrison and Picasso.

Jone said...

This is such a great post. I love this quote: "“Write what should not be forgotten.” ― Isabel Allende"

Karen Edmisten said...

Linda, I missed the Hockney article in the NYT, will go have a look. Thank you!

Karen Edmisten said...

Carol and Jone, I love all three of those and it's hard to pick a favorite, isn't it? :)

Karen Edmisten said...

I did it again. My brain wants to type "Monica" when I KNOW YOU ARE MONA. :D

Michelle Kogan said...

Sorry you fell short on time, (I can relate to that) though I enjoyed all these rich quotes, especially Picasso and Allende, thanks Karen!