Louis Simpson

When I was in hospital I found I could hardly read or writ. In these circumstances I began to write poems. I found that poetry was the only kind of writing in which I could express my thoughts. One night I dreamed I was lying on the bank of a canal, under machine gun fire. The next morning I wrote it out , Carentan O Caretan, and as I wrote I realized it was not a dream, but the memory of my first time under fire

— Louis Simpson

Where is the Mississippi panoramaThe Open Road goes to the used-car lot.

— Louis Simpson

All that grave weight of AmericaThe future in ruins! JH Honesty seems to me to be the best legacy I can leave the world.

— Louis Simpson

It's complicated, being an American,Perhaps, after all, this is not the right subject for a poem.

— Louis Simpson

For people may not know what they thinkabout the flavour of shredded coconut.

— Louis Simpson