I certainly can't speak for all cultures or all societies, but it's c… — Mark Strand

I certainly can't speak for all cultures or all societies, but it's clear that in America, poetry serves a very marginal purpose. It's not part of the cultural mainstream.

Mark StrandPoet · American · b. 1934

More from Mark Strand

America - a great social and economic experiment, noble in motive and far-reaching in purpose. — Herbert Hoover
With me poetry has not been a purpose, but a passion. — Edgar Allan Poe
America's highways, roads, bridges, are an indispensable part of our lives. They link one end of our nation to the other. We use them each and every day, for every conceivable purpose. — Christopher Dodd
A life is not sufficiently elevated for poetry, unless, of course, the life has been made into an art. — Mark Strand
Poetry is something that happens in universities, in creative writing programs or in English departments. — Mark Strand
I would say that American poetry has always been a poetry of personal testimony. — Mark Strand