Octavio Paz Quote

Two opposing forces inhabit the poem: one of elevation or up-rooting, which pulls the word from the language: the other of gravity, which makes it return. The poem is an original and unique creation, but it is also reading and recitation: participation. The poet creates it; the people, by recitation, re-create it. Poet and reader are two moments of a single reality.

The Bow and the Lyre: The Poem, The Poetic Revelation, Poetry and History (ed. University of Texas Press, 2009) - ISBN: 9780292707641