---
title: "1 Collection Poems Quotes By James Fenton"
description: "1 Collection Poems quotes by James Fenton. Plus more from James Fenton and more Collection Poems sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/082/james-fenton-9438_bad-idea_i-ve-not-been-a-prolific-poet-and-it-alw_3025539.png"
---

> [I've not been a prolific poet, and it always seemed to me to be a bad idea to feel that you had to produce in order to get... credits. Production of a collection of poems every three years or every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/i-ve-not-been-a-prolific-poet-and-it-always-seemed-to-me-to-be-a-bad/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/082/james-fenton-9438_bad-idea_i-ve-not-been-a-prolific-poet-and-it-alw_3025539.png)

## More by James Fenton

> [Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/among-those-today-who-believe-that-modern-poetry-must-do-without/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [When we study Shakespeare on the page, for academic purposes, we may require all kinds of help. Generally, we read him in modern spelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/when-we-study-shakespeare-on-the-page-for-academic-purposes-we-may/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [There is no objection to the proposal: in order to learn to be a poet, I shall try to write a sonnet. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/there-is-no-objection-to-the-proposal-in-order-to-learn-to-be-a-poet/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [Poetry carries its history within it, and it is oral in origin. Its transmission was oral. Its transmission today is still in part oral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/poetry-carries-its-history-within-it-and-it-is-oral-in-origin-its/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [A glance at the history of European poetry is enough to inform us that rhyme itself is not indispensable. Latin poetry in the classical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/a-glance-at-the-history-of-european-poetry-is-enough-to-inform-us/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [In song the same rule applies as in dramatic verse: the meaning must yield itself, or yield itself sufficiently to arouse the attention and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/in-song-the-same-rule-applies-as-in-dramatic-verse-the-meaning-must/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [Great poetry does not have to be technically intricate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/great-poetry-does-not-have-to-be-technically-intricate/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> ['Love' is so short of perfect rhymes that convention allows half-rhymes like 'move.' The alternative is a plague of doves, or a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/love-is-so-short-of-perfect-rhymes-that-convention-allows-half-rhymes/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [Lyric poetry is, of course, musical in origin. I do know that what happened to poetry in the twentieth century was that it began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/lyric-poetry-is-of-course-musical-in-origin-i-do-know-that-what/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [At somewhere around 10 syllables, the English poetic line is at its most relaxed and manageable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/at-somewhere-around-10-syllables-the-english-poetic-line-is-at-its/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [In rap, as in most popular lyrics, a very low standard is set for rhyme; but this was not always the case with popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/in-rap-as-in-most-popular-lyrics-a-very-low-standard-is-set-for-rhyme/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [The Italian word 'stanza' means 'a room', and a room is a good way to conceive of a stanza. A room, generally speaking, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/the-italian-word-stanza-means-a-room-and-a-room-is-a-good-way-to/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [Some people think that English poetry begins with the Anglo-Saxons. I don't, because I can't accept that there is any continuity between the traditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/some-people-think-that-english-poetry-begins-with-the-anglo-saxons-i/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [Nobody really knows whether they are a poet. I knew I was interested from the age of 15.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/nobody-really-knows-whether-they-are-a-poet-i-knew-i-was-interested/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [Modernism in other arts brought extreme difficulty. In poetry, the characteristic difficulty imported under the name of modernism was obscurity. But obscurity could just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/modernism-in-other-arts-brought-extreme-difficulty-in-poetry-the/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

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