Poems V: Believe in Poetry, Not Poets

What the poet Octavio Paz said about poetry could just as easily be said about preaching:

"I have a great belief in poetry, but not in poets. Poets are the transmitter, the conduits. They are no better than other people. Poets are vain - we have many defects. We must realize that we are human beings, and be humble. Poetry is very important, but poets are not."

In The Language of Life Bill Moyers says "Octavio Paz--poet, essayist, critic, editor, journalist, and translator--became the first Mexican to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature (1990). A man of conscience, Paz resigned as Mexico's ambassador to India in 1968 to protest his government's massacre of student demonstrators in Mexico City. He has taught at universities around the world and resides today in Mexico City."