James and the World of Creation

Henry James, oil portrait by John Singer Sargent (1913)

To live in the world of creation—to get into it and stay in it—to frequent it and haunt it—to think intensely and fruitfully—to woo combinations and inspirations into being by a depth and continuity of attention and meditation—this is the only thing.

–Henry James, Notebook entry, quoted by Wallace Stevens in a letter to José Rodríguez Feo, June 20, 1945 in: Wallace Stevens Collected Poetry and Prose, p. 949 (Library of America ed. 1997)