Norman MacCaig Quotes & Sayings

“Anybody who writes doesn't like to be misunderstood.”

“When I go fishing I like to know that there's nobody within five miles of me.”

“I'm very gregarious, but I love being in the hills on my own.”

“All those authors there, most of whom of course I've never met. That's the poetry side, that's the prose side, that's the fishing and miscellaneous behind me. You get an affection for books that you've enjoyed.”

“Well, I love fishing. I wouldn't kill a fly myself but I've no hesitation in killing a fish. A lot of men are like that. No bother. Out you come. Thump. And that's not the only reason.”

“Well, I'm a light traveller. I chuck things away.”

“All I write about is what's happened to me and to people I know, and the better I know them, the more likely they are to be written about.”

“And if they haven't got poetry in them, there's nothing you can do that will produce it.”

“And the second question, can poetry be taught? I didn't think so.”

“But I hang on to books. I love them. I even think they're very nice decor in a room - far better than paintings... That's not quite true!”