Why Write?

Our Art of Poetry interview with Henri Cole.

The Paris Review Redux: free interviews, stories, poems, and art from the archives of The Paris Review. View this email in your browser Henri Cole and Louise Glück, April 2010, © Nancy Crampton. "I don't want the reader to experience comfort—I want the opposite," said Henri Cole in his Art of Poetry interview, which was published in the Summer 2014 issue of the Review. "A lyric poem presents an X-ray of the self in a moment of being, and usually this means dissonance." This week, we're unlocking our Art of Poetry interview with Henri Cole, whose interview with the late Louise Glück appeared in our recent Winter issue.  INTERVIEW The Art of Poetry No. 98 Henri Cole INTERVIEWER Why write?   COLE For the completely selfish pleasure of composition, which for me surpasses the trumped-up pleasures of eating, drinking, and sex. Since I do not write to teach anybody anything, it's a completely selfish act, but it gives me a sense of equilibrium and a reason for existence. Nothing gives me as much pleasure, when I'm doing it well, as writing.   From issue no. 209 (Summer 2014) Copyright © 2024 The Paris Review. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: The Paris Review 544 West 27th Street 3rd Floor New York, New York 10001 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe, if you must.