Craig Raine

Craig Raine (born 3 December 1944) is an English poet and critic. He has been credited with originating Martianism, a movement named after his poem "A Martian Sends a Postcard Home".

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 * Caxtons are mechanical birds with many wings And some are treasured for their markings – They cause the eyes to melt Or the body to shriek without pain.
 * "A Martian Sends a Postcard Home", line 1; first published in The New Statesman, December 23 and 30, 1977.


 * In homes, a haunted apparatus sleeps, That snores when you pick it up. If the ghost cries, they carry it To their lips and soothe it to sleep With sounds. And yet, they wake it up Deliberately, by tickling with a finger.
 * "A Martian Sends a Postcard Home", line 19.


 * The task of the artist at any time is uncompromisingly simple – to discover what has not yet been done, and to do it.
 * The Guardian, August 19, 1988.


 * Great writers arrive among us like new diseases – threatening, powerful, impatient for patients to pick up their virus, irresistible.
 * The Independent on Sunday, November 18, 1990.


 * I used to carry a copy of Ulysses with me everywhere just in case I was knocked down by a bus. It seemed more important than having clean underwear.
 * The Guardian, February 10, 2004.