Methodism and spirituality have
played a significant role from the beginning in Walcott's work. He commented,
"I have never separated the writing of poetry from prayer. I have grown up
believing it is a vocation, a religious vocation." He describes the
experience of the poet: "The body feels it is melting into what it has
seen… the “I” not being important. That is the ecstasy...Ultimately, it’s what
Yeats says: 'Such a sweetness flows into the breast that we laugh at everything
and everything we look upon is blessed.' That’s always there. It’s a
benediction, a transference. It’s gratitude, really. The more of that a poet
keeps, the more genuine his nature".[6]
He notes that "if one thinks a poem is
coming on...you do make a retreat, a withdrawal into some kind of silence that
cuts out everything around you. What you’re taking on is really not a renewal
of your identity but actually a renewal of your anonymity".[6]
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