Peter Elbow Quotes

#1. It is the moment when what was chaos is now seen as having a center of gravity. There is a shape where a moment ago there was none.

Peter Elbow

#2. Everyone agrees in theory that we can't judge a new idea or point of view unless we enter into it and try it out, but the practice itself is rare.

Peter Elbow

#3. It's an unnecessary burden to try to think of words and also worry at the same time whether they're the right words.

Peter Elbow

#4. The deepest dependency is not of students upon teachers, but of teachers upon students.

Peter Elbow

#5. Writing with voice is writing into which someone has breathed. It has that fluency, rhythm, and liveliness that exist naturally in the speech of most people when they are enjoying a conversation ... Writing with real voice has the power to make you pay attention and understand
the words go deep.

Peter Elbow

#6. Certainty is rarely if ever possible and we increase the likelihood of getting things wrong if we succumb to the hunger for it.

Peter Elbow

#7. Producing writing is not so much like filling a basin or pool once, but rather getting water to keep flowing through till finally it runs clear.

Peter Elbow

#8. Meaning is not what you start with, but what you end up with.

Peter Elbow

#9. The question for writing then is this: how long are you willing to be unheard?

Peter Elbow