“All poetry is an ordered voice, one which tries to tell you about a vi...” — Paul Engle Quote

“All poetry is an ordered voice, one which tries to tell you about a vision in the un-visionary language of farm, city, and love.”

“There must be an alternative between Hollywood and New York, between those two places psychically as well as geographically. The University of Iowa tries to offer such a community, congenial to the young writer, with his uneasiness about writing as an honorable career, or with his excess of ego about calling himself a writer.”

“I can still remember the feel in my hand of that most wonderful American coin ever minted, a nickel with a buffalo on one side and the head of an Indian on the other. That nickel was a daily proof of our country's past. Bring it back!”

“I thought I should have a Rolls, for prestige, so I ordered one. But when it came, I realized that I didn't really need it.”

“I have killed no one and I have ordered no one to be killed.”

“I love to share food, especially if I made it or I'm particularly proud of what I ordered.”