Jonathan Galassi Quotes

Powerful Jonathan Galassi for Daily Growth

About Jonathan Galassi

Jonathan Galassi (born July 13, 1954) is an American poet, translator, and editor, best known for his work as the director of Ecco Press, a division of HarperCollins Publishers. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Galassi grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, where he attended Newton North High School. He went on to earn a Bachelor's degree in English from Harvard University in 1976 and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa in 1978. Galassi began his career as an editor at Farrar, Straus & Giroux, where he worked with many notable poets including Seamus Heaney, Jorie Graham, and Charles Simic. In 1983, he joined Knopf, where he edited the work of prominent authors such as W.G. Sebald, Giorgio Agamben, and Roberto Calasso. In 1992, Galassi was appointed as the director of Ecco Press, a position he still holds today. Under his leadership, Ecco has become known for its innovative and eclectic list of literary works, which includes translations of major contemporary European poets such as Claudio Magris, Paolo Maurensig, and Giuseppe Caputo. Galassi's own poetry collections include "Bird Tracks" (1982), "Another Sight" (1995), "The Mansion on the Hill" (2006), and most recently, "A Day at the Races" (2017). His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Whiting Writers' Award. Galassi continues to be an influential figure in contemporary poetry and translation, and his contributions to literature have left a lasting impact on the literary world.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Poetry is not merely a matter of expressing oneself; it's about discovering what one has to express."

This quote emphasizes that poetry is more than just personal self-expression; it's also a journey of discovery, where the poet uncovers their inner thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. The process of creating poetry becomes an exploration of oneself, leading to a deeper understanding and expression of one's unique voice and experiences.

"Translation is an act of love and betrayal."

Translation, according to Jonathan Galassi, is a delicate balance between love for the original text and the necessity to betray it slightly in order to faithfully convey its essence into another language, culture, and context. The act of translation requires not only respect for the source material but also a creative interpretation that captures the spirit and intention of the author, while also appealing to the reader in the target language.

"In poetry, there are no errors or mistakes, only opportunities to discover something new."

This quote suggests that in the realm of poetry, what may initially appear as errors or mistakes can actually be viewed as opportunities for discovery and innovation. Rather than seeing flaws in their work, poets should view them as potential paths to uncovering fresh insights and ideas, thereby enriching their creative output. The quote encourages a mindset that embraces experimentation and openness to the unexpected, fostering growth and learning in the process of poetry creation.

"To translate a poem is to live with its author for a while."

This quote suggests that the process of translating poetry isn't just about converting words from one language to another, but also involves immersing oneself in the mindset, emotions, and artistic intentions of the original poet. Translation becomes a form of empathy, allowing the translator to temporarily inhabit the author's creative space, thereby infusing their work with the essence of the original.

"The most important part of editing a book of poems is listening to the conversation between the poems themselves."

This quote emphasizes the unique dialogue that exists within a collection of poems, where each poem interacts with the others through shared themes, styles, or emotions. The editor's role is not just to correct grammar or punctuation but also to discern the conversation between the poems, ensuring they cohere harmoniously and enhance one another's impact when read as a whole. In this way, the book of poems becomes more than a simple collection of individual pieces; it forms a cohesive narrative that resonates with readers on a deeper level.

I think that the continuity of what I do as an editor with what I did when I started out 40 years ago is very direct. The delivery system is changing and will continue to, but the actual interaction between publisher and author is exactly the same.

- Jonathan Galassi

I Think, Very, Direct, Continuity

A translation needs to read convincingly. There's no limit to what can go into it in terms of background research, feeling, or your own interests in form and history. But what should come out is something that reads as convincing English-language text.

- Jonathan Galassi

Research, Own, Your, Translation

What the beautiful-writing writers are most attached to is almost always superfluous.

- Jonathan Galassi

Always, Most, Almost, Superfluous

Be patient, work hard and consistently, have faith in your writing, and don't be afraid to listen to constructive criticism.

- Jonathan Galassi

Work, Faith, Work Hard, Be Patient

The FSG story starts to lose its fairy-tale aura when filthy lucre invades the sacred enclosure, as it did ubiquitously in the every-man-for-himself Reagan era.

- Jonathan Galassi

Lose, Fairy-Tale, Reagan, Aura

I love poetry; it's my primary literary interest, and I suppose the kind of reading you do when you are reading poems - close reading - can carry over into how you read other things.

- Jonathan Galassi

Love, Other, Over, Primary

The price of an e-book is a lot less than the price that we're charging for a hardcover book. It's about the same as we charge for a paperback. And that means a different revenue stream.

- Jonathan Galassi

Book, Charge, Means, Charging

The Futurists believed in the machine, in making a great big fuss, in being young. For a brief moment, they were arguably the most influential aesthetic provocateurs in the world.

- Jonathan Galassi

Big, Aesthetic, Brief, Brief Moment

There's an old saw about journalism that the more you know about a subject, the less sense reporting about it makes.

- Jonathan Galassi

Old, More, Subject, Reporting

I deal with the authors I work with, agents, and other departments of the company, talking about both the books that I'm working on and everyone else's. Then there's dealing with foreign publishers: foreigners visit all the time. People want to bounce things off the publisher, and a lot of it is encouragement.

- Jonathan Galassi

Deal, Other, Foreigners, Agents

I think that a really good agent should be able to get the right publisher, which the agent has already figured out, get as much money as she can from that publisher, and make a deal, rather than have the amount of money determine the sale. That's what the best agents do.

- Jonathan Galassi

Deal, I Think, Agent, Agents

As the publisher of FSG and the custodian of its legacy, I have an interested insider's view.

- Jonathan Galassi

Legacy, View, Publisher, Custodian

A publisher - and I write as one - does far more than print and sell a book. It selects, nurtures, positions and promotes the writer's work.

- Jonathan Galassi

Work, More, I Write, Publisher

An e-book distributor is not a publisher, but rather a purveyor of work that has already been created.

- Jonathan Galassi

Work, Been, Rather, Publisher

Elizabeth Bishop in particular had a big impact on me personally as well as artistically. Her insistence on clarity is something I rate very highly.

- Jonathan Galassi

Big, Very, Elizabeth, Highly

I can write anywhere that's quiet. I have a study in my apartment, but I often work in the kitchen of a house that we rent in the country.

- Jonathan Galassi

Work, Country, Study, Kitchen

My biggest concern about the market is the force that acts to drive down price, because I think that's destructive to authors as well as publishers. Our biggest battle is to underline the value of intellectual property.

- Jonathan Galassi

I Think, About, Acts, Authors

A lot of great authors are published before their time. That's not wrong; it's just the way it works.

- Jonathan Galassi

Before, Works, Published, Authors

I think poetry was always where I went to deal with my deepest feelings.

- Jonathan Galassi

Think, Deal, Always, Feelings

There are courses you can take to learn the mechanics of the business, like the Radcliffe course, but I don't think they teach you how to edit.

- Jonathan Galassi

Business, Think, Courses, Radcliffe

When you're in the throes of writing, I find, the lessons you've casually imparted to others are not in the forefront of your mind. Which may be good or bad. Probably both.

- Jonathan Galassi

Mind, May, Which, Lessons

Poetry is really about your mental state or intellectual, and where you are, and you're trying to evoke that, explain it to yourself, whatever, you're trying to dig into it, analyse yourself.

- Jonathan Galassi

Dig, Explain, About, Analyse

I've always loved the poetry in 'Pale Fire.' I think it's wonderful.

- Jonathan Galassi

Think, Always, I Think, Pale

Eugenio Montale - born in Genoa in 1896, died in Milan, 1981 - is one of the twentieth-century Europeans who has spoken most meaningfully to American and British poets.

- Jonathan Galassi

American, Born, British, Milan

I was nearly 40 when I published my first book. I was a slow starter - or rather, I was slow to gather my work together, though I had published translations, mainly of the Italian poet Montale, by then.

- Jonathan Galassi

Rather, Starter, Though, Work Together

I think publishers need to be the ones that publish the books and control that process: finding writers, helping them with their work, finding readers. I think writers need that.

- Jonathan Galassi

Process, Think, I Think, Readers

I feel that there is not an endlessly expandable universe of fiction readers.

- Jonathan Galassi

Universe, Fiction, Endlessly, Readers

John Updike's first published book was a collection of poems.

- Jonathan Galassi

Book, Poems, John, Published

Claiming your life for yourself feels like a huge deal until you do it.

- Jonathan Galassi

Deal, Like, Feels, Claiming

There's been a fragmentation of how the market functions, but I believe printed books are here to stay. People like the tactile experience, the smell of them; there's a great romance to them.

- Jonathan Galassi

Here, Romance, Been, Printed

One thing I have noticed is that when you're a younger editor, you're more intense about it. As you go along, you relax a little. More and more, I feel that the book is the author's. You give the author your thoughts, and it's up to him or her to decide what to do.

- Jonathan Galassi

Book, Feel, About, Intense

The thing that happened with the music business, there are no stores anymore where you can buy music. It's all an online business now, and that's, you know - the bookstore culture is a very vibrant part of the American experience that we're very reluctant to see go away.

- Jonathan Galassi

Very, American Experience, Bookstore

If you've worked in a company for a long time, there's a mythology that you know by heart, you don't need to look it up to evoke. It's there in your blood, as it were.

- Jonathan Galassi

Look, Need, Your, Evoke

Poetry is not mainstream, but then neither is serious fiction, really. But I don't think there's a lot to worry about in this particular 'problem'. Why does art have to be mainstream to be significant?

- Jonathan Galassi

Art, Worry, Think, Mainstream

Giving oneself permission to write to begin with is the first enormous challenge. But you discover that this permission involves a requirement: To write about things that are difficult because they are, in fact, your subject.

- Jonathan Galassi

Fact, Discover, Involves, Permission

I wanted to be involved with literature. I certainly wasn't going to be able to write for a living, and I didn't have enough confidence in my talent to think that I should be just doing that. Publishing seemed like fun to me - to be involved with writers. And it did turn out to be.

- Jonathan Galassi

Doing, Turn, Out, Publishing

Everything is different - except for publishing itself: getting hold of an amazing author, working to make his or her book the best and best-looking it can be, telling the world.

- Jonathan Galassi

Book, Telling, Author, Publishing

After college, I went to England and studied for a couple years.

- Jonathan Galassi

College, England, Couple, Couple Years

Editing is more by-the-hip. You look at a text and ask yourself how it can be improved.

- Jonathan Galassi

More, How, Improved, Text

The only thing you can really say in a poem is what you really, really deeply believe.

- Jonathan Galassi

Say, Only, The Only Thing, Poem

I've always used poetry to explain myself to myself. These things just sat in my psyche and then came out.

- Jonathan Galassi

Myself, Always, Explain, Psyche

I'll tell you - there's no author that wants to give his mother an e-book of his new book. I think he wants to present her with - or she - wants to present her with something beautiful that he or she created.

- Jonathan Galassi

Think, New, Give, He Or She

Poems are endlessly renewable resources. Whatever you bring to them, at whatever stage of life, gets mirrored back, refracted, reread in new ways.

- Jonathan Galassi

New, Bring, Resources, Endlessly

Writing is inherently scary.

- Jonathan Galassi

Writing, Scary, Inherently

I think poetry should be read very much like prose, except that the line breaks should be acknowledged somehow.

- Jonathan Galassi

Think, Prose, Very, Acknowledged

My poems are always about my life in one way or another.

- Jonathan Galassi

My Life, Always, One Way, Poems

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