Now I suppose I see the institutionalization of arts funding and poetry prizes as mostly innocuous good-hearted runarounds of an age old problem: how to slip a few coins to a species of maker whose societal worth cannot be measured by or compensated through conventional means. Such windfalls give poets a little help and a little boost. The trick is not to take this kind of recognition too seriously. The integrity and honesty of the poem, which will stare back at you from the same distance no matter how successful you are, is the only true measure of value.

Source: Because A Lady Asks Me: On Poetry & Money : Jennifer Moxley : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation