"A poem is really a kind of machine for producing the poetic
state of mind by means of words. The effect of this machine
is uncertain, for nothing is certain about action on other
minds. But whatever may be the result, in its uncertainty,
the construction of the machine demands the solution of
many problems."

Paul Valery
"Poetry and Abstract Thought"
in *The Art of Poetry*

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Thought Machine
#3 {click here} (collaboration with Toni Simon)

"In fact, what we call a *poem* is in practice
composed of fragments of pure poetry embedded
in the substance of a discourse."

Valery
"Pure Poetry"

**

"All literature which has passed a certain age reveals
a tendency to create a poetic language apart from ordinary
speech, with a vocabulary, syntax, licenses, and prohibitions
that differ more or less from those in ordinary use...One
could imagine that the language of poetry might develop to
the point of constituting a system of notation as different
from practical speech as is the artifical language of algebra
or chemistry. The slightest poem contains all the germs and
indications of this potential development. I do not say
whether it is desirable or not. Such a judgement would
have no meaning."

Valery
"The Poet's Rights Over Language"